After a demanding material maintenance period, the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Greeneville (SSN 772) returned to the fleet, battle ready on April 19.
With the successful delivery of Greeneville, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY), Kittery, Maine marked an end of an era providing extensive Engineered Overhauls (EOH) to Los Angeles-class attack submarines.
An EOH is a scheduled part of the submarine’s maintenance lifecycle which encompasses a major overhaul for the accomplishment of maintenance and modernization based on engineered periodicities, according to Greeneville Project Superintendent Ray Mondor. Since 1984, PNSY has been at the forefront of conducting these labor-intensive overhauls.
“Through the hard work and dedication of the entire shipyard we were able to deliver Greeneville back to the fleet in top physical and operational condition,” said Mondor. “There are too many individuals to mention, but I greatly appreciate the efforts and ability of Team Greeneville. Unlike some recent major availabilities at PNSY, this core team mainly stayed intact during the duration of EOH. We would not be talking about completing this availability today if not for their individual and team accomplishments and sacrifices,” continued Mondor.
During Greeneville’s availability, approximately 4000 members of Team Portsmouth, along with Greeneville crewmembers, worked tirelessly to get Greeneville back to the fleet. Like many of the Los Angeles-class attack submarines, Greeneville has served the fleet for many years.
“When I talk about team Greeneville, I can’t forget to mention Greeneville’s commanding officer, Cmdr. Chad Tella, and the ship’s force crew that we built a great relationship with,” said Mondor. “I look forward to following the success of this mighty boat and felt a great sense of pride watching it steam out of the channel to aid in the future defense of this country. I’m hoping that everyone who had a piece of this success will share that same proud feeling,” added Mondor.
Greeneville’s sea trials was exceptionally successful. Sea trials is the ship’s first underway following a maintenance period and provides an opportunity to put the ship and crew through its paces ensuring the entire team is ready for operational assignments.
“Greeneville has pushed these last few months to get back and contribute to the Pacific fleet,” said Capt. Daniel Reiss, Commodore, Submarine Squadron Two. “The crew is eager to arrive home and start building on the solid foundation they’ve laid while here at PNSY. The crew is ready to get back into the fight, tougher and stronger.”
“This project successfully integrated the knowledge and capability of the entire shipyard into a powerful team to achieve a great outcome,” said Mark Evans, Operations Department Execution Manager. “It was a fantastic job by Team Portsmouth in completing Greeneville.”
Greeneville is the 84th Los Angeles-class attack submarine and is the only ship in U.S. Navy history to be named for the city of Greeneville, Tennessee. Greeneville was commissioned at Norfolk Naval Base in Norfolk, Virginia on Feb. 16, 1996 and will be homeported in San Diego, California.
PNSY is the Navy’s center of excellence for attack submarine maintenance, repair, and modernization. As a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command, PNSY is committed to maximizing the material readiness of the fleet by safely delivering first-time quality, on time, and on budget.