USS ''Columbus'' (SSN-762) is a

nuclear powered Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

fast attack submarine and the second vessel of the United States Navy to be named for

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. The contract to build her was awarded to the

Electric Boat An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators. While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail pow ...

Division of

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...

Corporation in Groton, Connecticut, on 21 March 1986 and her keel was laid down on 9 January 1991. She was launched on 1 August 1992 sponsored by Mrs. Margaret DeMars, wife of Admiral Bruce DeMars and commissioned on 24 July 1993.

Operational history

''Columbus'' completed a Post Shipyard Availability in June 1994 in Groton, Connecticut after initial construction and shakedown operations. In September 1994, the submarine conducted an interfleet transfer to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and joined the U.S. Pacific Fleet Submarine Force. ''Columbus'' deployed to the Western Pacific in late 1995 through early 1996 and conducted a variety of operations as a unit of the Seventh Fleet along the way making port visits in Hong Kong, Subic Bay, Guam, and Yokosuka, Japan. ''Columbus'' was the first submarine equipped with the BYG-1 Fire Control System in December 2002. Two successful test launches of Tactical Tomahawk (Block IV) cruise missiles were conducted in late May 2003 from ''Columbus'', while underway in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California. ''Columbus'' departed Pearl Harbor for another western Pacific deployment in late 2003, and visited Jinhae-gu, South Korea, Singapore, and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

while taking part in Annual-Ex 2003, an exercise with various units of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. In mid-April 2006 seven ''Columbus'' crewmen were charged with a variety of offenses, including

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

, dereliction of duty, and

hazing Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...

, for alleged attacks on two of their shipmates. The accused range from a petty officer third class (E-4) to a senior chief (E-8). A complete report on the situation was completed on 30 May. On 13 June, the Navy announced the dismissal of ''Columbus''s commanding officer, Commander Charles Marquez because of concerns about his "ability to establish and maintain appropriate standards of professional conduct, provide the crew a safe, positive, professional environment in which to work, and maintain good order and discipline". Captain Brian McIlvaine, former commanding officer of , replaced Marquez temporarily. After a few months in command CAPT McIlvaine was replaced with CDR James Doody. At the end of a DMP (depot modernization period) In Bremerton, Washington, ''Columbus'' relocated back to Pearl Harbor on 22 December 2006. Following a modernization refit at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard from 2004 to 2006 in Bremerton, Washington, ''Columbus'' returned to

Submarine Squadron Seven Submarine Squadron 7 (also known as SUBRON 7) is a squadron of submarines of the United States Navy based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Pearl Harbor, HI under the command of Captain Dave Cox. History Naval Historical Center records show ...

in Pearl Harbor. She departed in March 2008 for a regularly scheduled six-month deployment with the Seventh Fleet. ''Columbus'' supported national taskings and theater security cooperation efforts while making port visits in

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

, Guam, Okinawa, Sasebo, and Yokosuka, Japan. In January 2009 ''Columbus'' was awarded the Submarine Squadron Seven Battle Efficiency (Battle "E") award, given to the submarine crew that best demonstrates technical proficiency and continual mission readiness throughout the previous year. In July 2009 Admiral Gary Roughead, the

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

, announced that ''Columbus'' was the Pacific Fleet winner of the 2008

Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy The Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy is an award presented annually by the United States Navy to the ship or aviation squadron that demonstrates the greatest improvement in battle efficiency from the previous year. Two commands annually, one from each co ...

. ''Columbus'' returned to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in August 2012 after completing a six-month deployment that included Seventh Fleet and national mission tasking along with port visits to Japan, South Korea, and Guam. ''Columbus'' arrived in the South Korean southern port city of Busan on 3 March 2014 as a part of a scheduled deployment in the Western Pacific. In September 2017, ''Columbus'' returned to Pearl Harbor from a six-month deployment having performing three national tasking periods, two theater operation periods, and a multinational exercise. ''Columbus'' also enjoyed four port visits, including Singapore and Guam.

Awards

; 1995 : Pacific Fleet Golden Anchor Award : Red Engineering "E" : Yellow Medical "M" ; 1996 : Meritorious Unit Commendation ; 1997 : Supply Blue "E" ; 1998 : Pacific Fleet Silver Anchor Award : Engineering "E" : Deck Seamanship ; 2002 : Red Green Navigational "N" ; 2003 : Navy Unit Commendation : Tactical "T" : Communications "C" ; 2004 : Columbus launch day

Medical "M" ; 2008 : Department of the Navy Safety Excellence Award : Damage Control 'DC', Navigation 'N', Communications 'C', and Supply Blue 'E' : Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy : Squadron 7 Battle "E" Efficiency Award : Meritorious Unit Commendation ;2012 :Squadron 7 Battle "E" Efficiency Award ; 2014 : Communications 'C', Information Dominance 'I', and Weapons 'W'

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Columbus (SSN-762) Ships built in Groton, Connecticut Los Angeles-class submarines Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy 1992 ships Submarines of the United States