USS ''Chicago'' (SSN-721) is a , the fourth ship of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

to be named for the city of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia on 13 August 1981 and her keel was laid down on 5 January 1983. She was launched on 13 October 1984 sponsored by Mrs. Vicki Ann Paisley, wife of Melvyn R. Paisley assistant

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

, and commissioned on 27 September 1986.

History

Early in 1996, an

RQ-1 Predator The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator (often referred to as the predator drone) is an American remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) built by General Atomics that was used primarily by the United States Air Force (USAF) and Central Intelligence Agency ...

aerial reconnaissance drone was successfully controlled from ''Chicago''. The drone reached altitudes up to 6,000 meters (20,000 ft) and ranged up to 185 kilometers (100 nmi.) from the submarine, which was operating at

periscope depth A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...

. In the summer of 2005, ''Chicago'' tested the virtual periscope, a system that would allow submerged submarines to observe the surface above them without having to come to a shallower depth, as is required by traditional

periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...

s. After completing a two-year maintenance and upgrade period at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

Naval Shipyard in October 2011, ''Chicago'' arrived in April 2012 at her new homeport, assigned to Submarine Squadron 15, based at

Joint Region Marianas Joint Region Marianas' mission is to provide installation management support to all Department of Defense components and tenants through assigned regional installations on Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in support of training in the Mariana ...

on the island of

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

. In keeping with a tradition that dates back to World War II,

Richard O'Kane Richard Hetherington O'Kane (February 2, 1911 – February 16, 1994) was a United States Navy submarine commander in World War II, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for commanding in the Pacific War against Japan to the most successful record ...

cribbage Cribbage, or crib, is a card game, traditionally for two players, that involves playing and grouping cards in combinations which gain points. It can be adapted for three or four players. Cribbage has several distinctive features: the cribbag ...

board was transferred from 's Wardroom to ''Chicago''s when ''Olympia'' was decommissioned on 31 October 2019, making ''Chicago'' the oldest fast attack boat in the Pacific Fleet. On 2 November 2022, ''Chicago'' arrived at

following a seven-month final deployment. ''Chicago'' arrived at

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted ...

on 17 January 2023 for her months-long inactivation and decommissioning process.

Awards

''Chicago'' has earned multiple awards in her service life. ''Chicago'' has been awarded many unit awards, including the Navy Unit Commendation, three Meritorious Unit Commendations and four

Navy "E" Ribbon The Navy "E" Ribbon or Battle Efficiency Ribbon (informally the Battle "E" ribbon) was authorized on March 31, 1976, by Secretary of the Navy J. William Middendorf as a unit award for battle efficiency competition. The Medal ribbon, service ribbo ...

Submarine Squadron Battle "E"s. ''Chicago'' has also been awarded several campaign and service awards, including the

Navy Expeditionary Medal The Navy Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was established in August 1936. Award criteria The General Orders of the Department of the Navy which established the medal states, "The medal will be awarded, to ...

, National Defense Medal,

Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John Kennedy. The medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who, after ...

, two Southwest Asia Service Medals, three

Sea Service Ribbon A Sea Service Ribbon is an award of the United States Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Army, and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps which recognizes those service members who have performed military duty while stationed on a Un ...

Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) The Naut Tahrir al-Kuwait ( ar, نوط تحرير الكويت) (Medal for the Liberation of Kuwait) was instituted by King Fahd ibn Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia for service during the Liberation of Kuwait campaign. Background The Saudi Arabian v ...

, and the

Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) The Kuwait Liberation Medal ( ar, وسام التحرير ''Wisām al-Taḥrīr'', , ) is a medal created in 1994 that was issued by the government of Kuwait to both local and foreign military personnel who served in the Persian Gulf War's "Liber ...

. One of the barracks buildings at the US Navy's Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes is named "USS ''Chicago''".

In popular culture

*''Chicago'' plays a prominent role in

Tom Clancy Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of his novels have ...

's novel ''

Red Storm Rising ''Red Storm Rising'' is a war novel, written by Tom Clancy and co-written with Larry Bond, and released on August 7, 1986. Set in the mid-1980s, it features a Third World War between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Warsaw Pact for ...

''. *''Chicago'' is also featured prominently in the 2008 naval thriller, '' Black Sea Affair'', by Don Brown.Google Books reference to USS ''Chicago''
in novel Black Sea Affair *''Chicago'', alongside its former Sixth Fleet sister, ''USS Dallas'', appear in the seventh mission of the 2009 video game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, titled "The Only Easy Day... Was Yesterday".

References

External links

*
Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet

721 Club – Civilian Support Organization for the Crew of SSN 721
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chicago (Ssn-721) Los Angeles-class submarines Cold War submarines of the United States Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy 1984 ships Submarines of the United States Ships built in Newport News, Virginia

History

Awards

In popular culture

References

Further reading

External links