USS Hawaii (SSN 776) Arrival Ceremony
By COMSUBPAC Public Affairs

Release Date: 07/16/2009

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii – USS Hawaii (SSN 776), the first Virginia-class submarine to be homeported in the Pacific, will arrive in a ceremony scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Thursday, July 23, at the submarine piers at Naval Station Pearl Harbor.  The state’s namesake submarine will make Hawaii its home during the 50th Anniversary of Statehood Commemoration activities.

The public is invited to view USS Hawaii from the Ford Island seaplane ramp as the submarine sails into Pearl Harbor.  For the safety and enjoyment of the public, possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages on Ford Island is prohibited.  Public parking will be provided on Ford Island as space permits, beginning at 8 a.m.  For security reasons, access to the site of the ceremony itself aboard Naval Station Pearl Harbor will be restricted. 

The ceremony at the submarine piers will feature a Hawaii Air National Guard flyover and participation by the U.S. Pacific Fleet Band, the Kamehameha Alumni Glee Club, Halau Hula Olana Ai, Kahuna Pule Ganotise, and a haka by Pa Ku‘i  a Lua.  Guest of honor for the ceremony will be the ship’s sponsor, Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle, who will briefly board USS Hawaii via a small boat prior to the ceremony. 

At the conclusion of the ceremony, a brief media availability will be conducted pier side with Gov.  Lingle, Commander, Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC) Rear Adm. Douglas McAneny and USS Hawaii’s Commanding Officer Cmdr. Ed Herrington. 

Following the ceremony, the Navy League of the United States, Honolulu Council, will host a reception for the families and crew of USS Hawaii at historic Lockwood Hall aboard the Naval Station, featuring Danny Kaleikini.  Following brief remarks by Gov. Lingle, Rear Adm. McAneny and Cmdr. Herrington and a brief presentation of gifts, the media will be invited aboard USS Hawaii for a brief below-decks tour of the submarine. 

Measuring 377 feet long, weighing 7,800 tons when submerged and with a complement of more than 130 crewmembers, Hawaii is one of the Navy’s newest and most technologically sophisticated submarines. 

The state-of-the-art submarine is capable of supporting a multitude of missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike, naval special warfare involving special operations forces, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, irregular warfare and mine warfare.

Commissioned May 5, 2007, Hawaii was the third Virginia-class attack submarine constructed and the first submarine to be named after the 50th state.  During her maiden deployment, USS Hawaii became only the second Naval submarine in history to receive the U.S. Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Citation for her efforts in support of Joint Interagency Task Force South counter-drug operations.  Her crew is excited to represent its namesake state, as they continue to build upon our already sustained relationships with our multinational partners in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Recognizing the importance of the Asia-Pacific region and the increased threat posed by the proliferation of submarines in the Pacific, the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review mandated that 60 percent of the U.S. Navy’s submarines be home-ported in the Pacific by the end of 2010.

USS Hawaii will join five Los Angeles-class submarines assigned to Pearl Harbor-based Submarine Squadron ONE, commanded by Commodore Lee Hankins.  In addition to the USS Hawaii, the Virginia-class submarine USS Texas (SSN 775) will transfer from Groton, Conn., to Submarine Squadron ONE this fall, and Los Angeles-class USS Albuquerque (SSN 706) will transfer from Groton, Conn., to Submarine Squadron ELEVEN in San Diego later this summer.  By the end of 2009, 31 of the U.S. Navy’s 53 fast attack submarines will be home ported in the Pacific, with 18 of those 31 home ported in Pearl Harbor.  COMSUBPAC officially announced the impending arrival of Virginia-class submarine USS Hawaii (SSN 776) to Pearl Harbor in December 2008.