October 13, 2010

By Rose Marketing Group, Inc. - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Index of New Mexico Ships - 31 Total

New Mexico Cities, Counties, Tribes, Rivers and Regions at Sea

By ETR2(SS) Dick Brown, USN (Vet)

There is a very strong, long-standing relationship between land-locked New Mexico and our blue water Navy. We may not have an ocean, but we have three commissioned nuclear submarines proudly carrying the names NEW MEXICO, SANTA FE and ALBUQUERQUE. But did you know that each of these subs was preceded by a naval warship by the same name?

USS NEW MEXICO (BB-40) was commissioned in May 1918. She displaced 33,000 tons, was 624 feet long, 100 feet wide and had a draft of 34 feet. Her crew numbered 1,945. As the Navy's first turboelectric-driven battleship, NEW MEXICO could reach speeds of 21 knots. One of her first assignments was to escort President Wilson from the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919. She was the first flagship of the Pacific Fleet in the 1920s. NEW MEXICO earned more engineering "E" awards than any other battleship and was known by her nickname "The Queen". In May 1941, she was reassigned to the Atlantic as more and more ships were borrowed from the Pacific Fleet to counter the increasing threat by the Germans. She returned to the Pacific after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and earned six battle stars in the Pacific theatre. She suffered two devastating kamikaze hits but went on to fight another day. She was present in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrendered. She was decommissioned in July 1946; however, our battleship legacy continues with USS NEW MEXICO (SSN-779) as the US Navy again bestowed a great honor upon our state. In a way, the submarine is a salute to those who served aboard BB-40 and a tribute to all New Mexicans who have served, and are serving, in our Armed Forces.

USS NEW MEXICO (SSN-779)

USS NEW MEXICO (SSN-779) is the Navy's sixth Virginia-class fast-attack nuclear submarine. Her name honors the Land of Enchantment and is the result of a 5-year statewide Navy League grassroots campaign by this council. SECNAV Gordon England made his selection of the name New Mexico official at a special ceremony on December 6, 2004 at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque.

Some statistics for USS New Mexico:

Ship's Sponsor: Cindy Giambastiani, wife of former JCS Vice Chairman, ADM Ed Giambastiani, USN(Ret)

Launched: January 19, 2009

Commissioned: March 27, 2010

Length: 377 ft

Beam: 34 feet

Draft: 32 ft

Displacement: 7800 tons

Speed: more than 25 knots (submerged), fueled for life

Depth: greater than 800 ft

Crew: 134 highly trained professionals, average age 21

Weapons: Mk 48 torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles

NEW MEXICO is designed to excel in anti-submarine warfare; anti-ship warfare; strike warfare; special operations; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; irregular warfare; battle group support; and mine warfare missions. By doing so, NEW MEXICO will directly enable five of the six Navy Maritime Strategy Core Capabilities - sea control, power projection, forward presence, maritime security, and deterrence.

After successful sea trials, NEW MEXICO was delivered to the Navy on December 29, 2009, four months ahead of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding's contract schedule. Since then, NEW MEXICO has had a grueling schedule; she conducted several months of shakedown operations in the Caribbean, proving that she is now a fully operational combat-ready submarine. However, she also managed to take time out for a VIP cruise for commissioning committee members, swim call and fishing in the Bahamas, commissioning ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk, and a visit by SECNAV.

SECNAV Ray Mabus boarded NEW MEXICO on May 11, 2010 for his first submarine embark as secretary. "I am amazed at the level of skill and the level of expertise of our sailors," Mabus said. "The ability to fully operate a Virginia-class submarine and all of its complex systems is truly remarkable. Our sailors continually show that they are the best trained and the best skilled force our nation has seen."

On June 1, 2010, NEW MEXICO arrived at her new homeport, Submarine Base New London (CT), the Submarine Capital of the World. She is now going through her post-shakedown availability (PSA) period at General Dynamics Electric Boat shipyard in Groton.

The interior décor for "our" submarine has a distinctive Southwestern flair. For example, the crew's mess has been dubbed "La Posta Abajo del Mar" or La Posta Beneath the Sea, after the well-known La Posta de la Mesilla restaurant, near Las Cruces, NM. In fact, the boat's culinary specialists have been trained in New Mexico cuisine at La Posta. Southwest-style bunk curtains were manufactured by a Las Cruces company for NEW MEXICO's sleeping quarters.

The New Mexico Council's USS NEW MEXICO Committee, in association with the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, continues to provide long-term support for the submarine. For more information on USS NEW MEXICO, go to www.ussnewmexico.net.

As the most technologically advanced submarine in the world, NEW MEXICO will provide undersea supremacy well into the 21st century. Wherever she goes, she will carry our name as she protects our freedom and defends our nation. In fact, NEW MEXICO's motto, "Defendemos Nuestra Tierra", means just that, "We Defend Our Land".






Another WWII fighting machine was USS ALBUQUERQUE (PF-7), a 1430-ton, 304-foot patrol frigate. She was commissioned in February 1944, decommissioned at the end of the war and loaned to USSR from 1945 to 1949, then re-commissioned for service during the Korean war (three battle stars). She was then loaned to Japan in 1953 and finally sunk as a target in 1968. This predecessor of USS ALBUQUERQUE (SSN-706) carried a crew of 190.

USS ALBUQUERQUE (SSN-706)

USS ALBUQUERQUE (SSN-706) is a Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine, in fact, one of the first nuclear subs to earn the distinction of combat veteran. She is known as the "Sureshooter of the Submarine Force" as her Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles hit 100% of their targets during the 1999 Kosovo conflict. Some statistics for USS Albuquerque:

Ship's Sponsor: Nancy L. Domenici, wife of New Mexico Senator Pete V. Domenici

Launched: March 13, 1982

Commissioned: May 21, 1983

Length: 360 ft

Beam: 33 feet

Draft: 29 ft

Displacement: 6900 tons

Speed: more than 25 knots (submerged)

Depth: greater than 800 ft Crew: 129 highly trained professionals, average age 21

Weapons: Mk 48 torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles

Last year, USS ALBUQUERQUE changed her homeport from Groton, CT to San Diego, CA. For quite some time, our submarines have been split 50-50 in the Atlantic and Pacific but we have restructured our Submarine Force to meet emerging new threats, placing 60% of our submarine resources in the Pacific. Transferring ALBUQUERQUE to Point Loma Naval Sub Base in San Diego was the last move to complete the new 60-40 split.

So her last 6-month deployment was also a repositioning cruise, starting with a run across the Atlantic, through the straits of Gibraltar, to Souda Bay, Crete. She then transited the Suez Canal to the Red Sea and on into the Arabian Gulf. She stopped in Bahrain in the Persian Gulf and later stopped at Diego Garcia for repairs and some fishing. She maneuvered through Indonesia to Guam and Saipan, then Yokosuka, Japan and Pearl Harbor, HI, and finally on to San Diego. USS Albuquerque conducted a six month deployment as part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group from 13 October 2004 to 12 April 2005. The ship made port calls in Scotland, Portugal, Bahrain, Seychelles, and Crete. During this deployment, USS Albuquerque was awarded the Squadron 2 Battle Efficiency Award for 2004.

While USS ALBUQUERQUE was refueled in 2003, she is set to be decommissioning around 2015, the limitation being end of hull life.

The submarine crew has enjoyed a long-standing city-sub relationship, one of the most active in the nation, thanks to the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce. The last crew visit was February 2010.

At the commissioning ceremony for USS Albuquerque, Mayor Harry Kinney offered the keys to a Rolls Royce to the first skipper who brings USS ALBUQUERQUE up the Rio Grande for a port call. Those keys are passed to the new skipper at each change of command ceremony. As of July 23, 2010, ALBUQUERQUE's new skipper is CDR Chris Cavanaugh; perhaps he will find a way to claim the prize.

USS Albuquerque (SSN 706) Holds Change of Command

From: Submarine Squadron 11 Public Affairs, July 23, 2010

NAVAL BASE POINT LOMA, Calif. - Cmdr. Christopher J. Cavanaugh relieved Cmdr. Michael G. Badorf as Commanding Officer of the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Albuquerque (SSN 706) during a pier side change of command ceremony on Naval Base Point Loma, July 23.

Under Badorf's command, Albuquerque steamed more than 50,000 miles in support of the Chief of Naval Operations' Maritime Strategy. He successfully completed an inter-fleet transfer and change of homeport from Groton, Conn. to San Diego as part of an around the world six month deployment through three Fleet Areas of Responsibility.

Rear Adm. Jerry K. Burroughs, Program Executive Officer of Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence, was the guest speaker.

"As a former commanding officer, each time I see this wonderful ship, it rekindles fond memories," said Rear Adm. Burroughs. "The best day in a Navy Submarine Officer's career is the day one assumes command of a boat."

Cavanaugh expressed his enthusiasm in his upcoming command tour stating, "I have been continually impressed by the motivation, the optimism, and the general desire to do well on Albuquerque... For me, there is no higher honor than to lead you as your commanding officer."

Cavanaugh, a native of Convoy Ohio, began his Navy career in 1993 after graduating from the United States Naval Academy with a degree in mechanical engineering.

Badorf, a native of Lititz, Penn., will serve his next tour of duty as the senior member of the Atlantic Fleet Nuclear Propulsion Examination Board in Norfolk, Va. His previous assignments include USS Portsmouth (SSN 707), USS Charlotte (SSN 766) and USS Asheville (SSN 758). He holds a master's degree in nuclear engineering from University of California at Berkeley and a master's degree in international affairs from the Catholic University of America. Badorf received the Meritorious Service Medal for his command tour.


New Mexico Cities, Counties, Tribes, Rivers and Regions at Sea (continued)




Early in WWII, the Navy launched USS SANTA FE (CL-60), a light cruiser that would go on to earn 13 battle stars for her service. The ship's crest for her namesake successor, USS SANTA FE (SSN-763), includes those 13 stars as a tribute to that great war-fighter. She displaced 10,000 tons, was 610 feet in length and 66 feet in width, and could reach speeds of 33 knots. Her crew numbered 1,255. SANTA FE was decommissioned in 1946 and scrapped in 1959.

USS SANTA FE (SSN-763)

By Capt Jim Fordice, USN (Ret)

USS SANTA FE (SSN-763) is an Improved LOS ANGELES (688I) class fast attack nuclear powered submarine. The SANTA FE is the second ship to be named in honor of the capital city of New Mexico. She features the BSY-1 combat system, retractable bow planes, and twelve vertical launch tubes for cruise missile strikes.

SANTA FE was constructed by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut. After completing builder's trials and follow-on outfitting, SANTA FE transited to the Pacific Ocean in March 1995 to be based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

USS SANTA FE combines stealth, endurance, and agility to provide a highly cost effective and capable ship, ready on a moment's notice to carry out a multitude of missions. A versatile platform, SANTA FE is equally at home in the roles of tactical intelligence gathering and surveillance, regional sea denial and task group support. Should conflict arise, her inherent covertness, near vulnerability to attack, and cruise missile capability provide SANTA FE a unique ability to be in place and undetected offshore for precision strike or ground warfare support.

Some statistics for USS SANTA FE:

Ship's Sponsor: Joy Johnson

Keel Laid: July 9, 1991

Launched: December 12, 1992

Commissioned: January 8, 1994

Length: 362 ft

Beam: 33 feet

Draft: 31 ft

Displacement: 6900 tons

Speed: more than 25 knots (submerged)

Depth: greater than 800 ft

Crew: 13 officers, 116 Chiefs and Sailors

Weapons: Mk 48 torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles

USS SANTA FE recently completed a major repair period lasting 18 months at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. After undergoing sea trials at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia and transiting through the Panama Canal, she has returned to Pearl Harbor.

She has completed four deployments to the Western Pacific and the Arabian Gulf. She returned from her latest deployment in November 2009; she is in active service as of 2010 under the command of CDR David A. Adams. In 2000 she won the Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy for most improved ship in the Fleet. In 2001 she won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award. In 2005 she was awarded the Naval Unit Commendation which is the second highest award that can be given to a Naval vessel. In 2006 Santa Fe was awarded a Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation. In 2001, 2004 and 2009 she won the COMSUBRON 7 Battle Efficiency "E" Award.

CDR David A. Adams - Commanding Officer USS SANTA FE (SSN-763)

Commander Adams is the son of Army Sergeant Major, enlisted in the Navy in 1985, and was commissioned through the Nuclear Enlisted Commissioning Program in 1991 after earning a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Commander Adams qualified submarines on USS Tennessee (SSBN 734B), served as Weapons Officer on USS Santa Fe (SSN 763), and was Executive Officer of USS Honolulu (SSN 718). During his tours these ships conducted five strategic deterrent patrols and three western Pacific deployments earning three Battle Efficiency awards, four Meritorious Unit Commendations, the Omaha Trophy, Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy, and Majorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award.

Commander Adams' first command was Joint Provincial Reconstruction Team Khost, Afghanistan from January 2007 to March 2008 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. During his tour, Khost province was recognized by the Secretary of Defense as "a model of counterinsurgency success."

Ashore he served as an Associate Fellow on the CNO's Strategic Studies Group, as Aide to Deputy Commander, Fleet Forces Command, and as Special Assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations and the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Commander Adams is a graduate of the Royal Navy's "Perisher" Submarine Command Course. He received his Masters in Strategic Planning from Naval Postgraduate School earning the Navy League Award for highest academic achievement. His essays on strategy and leadership have merited the Vincent Astor, Battelle, Colin Powell, Arleigh Burke (2) and Alfred Thayer Mahan Awards.

Commander Adams' decorations include the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal (2) and Combat Action Ribbon.





New Mexico Cities, Counties, Tribes, Rivers and Regions at Sea (continued)
With the new NEW MEXICO, new ALBUQUERQUE and new SANTA FE, pride runs deep in the Land of Enchantment. But that's not the end of our Navy story. There have been 24 other commissioned namesake warships, and what a variety of ship types representing some of our cities, counties and Native American tribes!





We had another WWII patrol frigate, USS GALLUP (PF-47), that also was decommissioned with ALBUQUERQUE and loaned to USSR. She lived much longer than ALBUQUERQUE as she was loaned to Thailand where she served in the Royal Thai Navy from 1951 to 2000.



If one were to visit the Tucumcari Convention Center, one would see a great exhibit showing the life and times of USS TUCUMCARI (PGH-2), one of two experimental Navy hydrofoils. She was placed in service in March 1968 and saw some service in Vietnam. The Boeing-built TUCUMCARI was 80 feet long and 22 feet wide. The 57-ton craft could travel 50 knots and carried a crew of 13. Unfortunately, her service was short-lived. She ran aground on a coral reef at Vieques Island, Puerto Rico in November 1972 and was lost.





USS ALAMOGORDO (ARDM-2) was an auxiliary repair drydock ship in the 1960s. After two decades of submarine repair service at Charleston Naval Base she was transferred to Ecuador. That was in 2000.





Another 1960s vintage support ship for the Naval Submarine Service was USS LOS ALAMOS (AFDB-7). She was a floating drydock at Holy Loch, Scotland where she serviced our forward-deployed Polaris missile submarines.

During WWII, the Navy named oceangoing tugboats after tribes. There was the USS NAVAJO (AT-64) honoring the Navajo Nation and the USS JICARILLA (ATF-104) honoring the Jicarilla Apache Nation in New Mexico. NAVAJO, having earned two battle stars, sank in 1943 after being torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-39. JICARILLA, also earning two battle stars, was decommissioned in 1950 and sold to Colombia in 1979. She was sunk as an artificial reef off the Colombian Pacific coast in 2004. There was also the USS ZUNI (ATF-95) honoring the Zuni tribe in New Mexico. ZUNI, having earned four battle stars, was decommissioned on 29 June 1946 and transferred to the United States Coast Guard. There were also the USS ACOMA (SP-1228), a section patrol motor boat, that was built in 1917 and decommissioned on November 25, 1918 and the USS APACHE (1889), a Navy tugboat commissioned on June 11, 1898 and decommissioned in September 24, 1898.







The Navy has honored seven New Mexico counties. There were two WWII attack transports. USS CATRON (APA-71) saw service in Okinawa (one battle star), then was used during atomic bomb testing at Bikini Atoll and finally sunk off Kwajalein as a target in 1948. USS SANDOVAL (APA-194) saw service at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the latter included a kamikaze hit. SANDOVAL went on to serve in the Korean War, the Cuba missile crisis and NASA's Apollo 8 mission. USS HIDALGO (AK-189), a cargo ship, arrived too late for WWII service and was sold to Turkey. There were also two WWII tank landing ships. The USS BERNALILLO COUNTY (LST-306) earned three battle stars for its numerous invaluable transport missions during the invasion of France in 1944 and was decommissioned on June 13, 1946. The USS EDDY COUNTY (LS-759) was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater and participated in the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto in April of 1945 and was later decommissioned on March 29, 1946. Two Tolland-class attack cargo ships were also named for New Mexico counties. The USS VALENCIA (AKA-81) and the USS TORRANCE (AKA-76) both saw service during WWII with each earning one battle star and later entered mercantile service.

We had two oilers named after the Cimarron River with its headwaters in northeast New Mexico. The first ship, USS CIMARRON (AO-22), saw service in WWII (10 battle stars), Korea (seven battle stars) and Vietnam (four campaign stars), and was scrapped in 1969. The second ship, USS CIMMARRON (AO-177), saw service from 1981 to 1998, and now rests in Suisan Bay, CA with the Reserve Fleet.

The USNS PECOS (T-AO-197), USS RIO GRANDE (AOG-3), USS CALIENTE (AO-53), USS GILA RIVER (LSMR-504), and USS TULAROSA (AOG-43) were all been named for rivers flowing through the state of New Mexico. These ships all served during WWII with the exception of the USNS PECOS (T-AO-197), which was launched on September 23, 1989 and is still in service.

The only ship named for a region in New Mexico, the USS WHITE SANDS (ARD-20), was a United States Navy auxiliary repair dock in service from 1944 to 1947. The USS WHITE SANDS was assigned to Seeadler Harbor, at Manus Island in the Admiralty Islands, where it repaired battle-damaged ships for a period of eight months. It later underwent conversion to a bathyscaphe support ship and was placed out of service in 1974.