Tag: The American Classic

DECOM: May 18th is Approaching

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HERE’S AN UPDATE, with 2 months left and counting on what is happening with the DECOM of the USS Bremerton SSN 698 and what it means for you if you are interested in attending.

The date is still May 18th, 2021 and, until further notice, will be at the U.S. Naval Undersea Museum at Keyport, Washington.

In the COVID environment, where nothing is planned without having to take the social restrictions into account,  staunch allies are preparing for various scenarios, namely the Navy League of The United States Bremerton-Olympic Peninsula Council (Capt. Alan Beam – CO#3)  in coordination with community leader and super supporter Patty Lent, former Mayor of the city of Bremerton, and the liaison from the USS Bremerton, LT. William Trettin. Because of the limitations imposed by the Museum at Keyport, the organizers are considering other venues; therefore, the next month has the potential for surprises.

FIRST, they are looking into the possibilities of holding the DECOM ceremony at a venue that can accommodate more people.  Keyport’s auditorium is currently limited to 50 people. IF a viable outdoor option is determined, this will allow numbers of Bremerton’s veterans and supporters to be on site to witness the ceremony.  Ultimately, the number of invitations to be sent out to alumni will be affected by where the ceremony will take place. A factor in the decision process, because of the involvement of active duty personnel, is the review and approval of ComSubGrp9.

SECOND, there are several considerations for a celebration party on various dates about the time of the DECOM. The fact that the Navy has cancelled many of their normal social collaborations during the month of May makes one of the popular party venues a possibility on May 20th. This date has been held in reservation by the Navy League for an event that the Navy backed out of. The 20th date for a party is close enough to the actual DECOM to be considered as an official part of the Bremerton’s celebration with alumni present.

Despite restrictions being in place, time is on our side. The State of Washington is loosening its social distancing rules, and, thanks to the decision of Captain Christopher Lindberg, May is further away than April. Further is better.  March already has loosening measures in place though we need to continue our approach to get a better picture.

What can you do now?

Besides hanging on for updates, go and submit your contact information through this website. This information will be forwarded to the Bremerton in care of LT Trettin in preparation for any scenario where invitations will be sent out.

HIT “698 ALUMNI SIGNUP” and follow the instructions if you have not already or need to update your info.

 

 

698 COMMISSION ‘EXTENDED’

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CAPTAIN’S Corner:

USS BREMERTON (SSN 698)

CAPT Chris Lindberg

 

We are looking forward to the last few months of the commissioned time of the USS BREMERTON. Due to COVID concerns and the rate at which the state of Washington is slowly opening, I am shifting the Decommissioning ceremony to Tuesday, May 18th. This will be the last shift in the date. My goal is to be completed with all work requiring crew personnel by June 1st. We are planning to have the ceremony available via video recording, but we are hoping for an in person gathering as well. This will depend on the State and Navy requirements for COVID mitigation.   I will provide updates as I have more information.

 

As we move forward, we are also taking a look back at the past year. I have the pleasure to announce our Sailor of the Year is ITS1 (SS) Tony Campbell and the Junior Sailor of the Year is TM2 (SS) Logan Houlot. ITS1 (SS) Campbell was selected due to his relentless drive for excellence in all facets of his support of Bremerton and the combined crew with USS Jacksonville. He led the merger of Radio division and LAN division into the new combined division, providing the blueprint for other commands to follow. His direct involvement and spearheading of establishing the new MWR gym equipment for use by command was vital to maintaining personnel readiness this last year. He is a true leader and consistently improves the command with his constant presence and focus on making the command better every day.

TM2 (SS) Houlot was selected for his command leadership in managing the day-to-day operations of Torpedo Division. He led the way in COVID mitigation of cleanliness of weapons that were handled by multiple watchstanders. His can do attitude and drive to set the example are what we expect and demand from our best.

As we look forward, I understand the importance of the USS BREMERTON in many of your hearts. For almost 41 years this submarine was home to many sailors who will forever have lasting memories of their time serving aboard her. I would like to remind you that, while the HY80 which surrounded you during your time aboard the BREMERTON protected you, the stories you have and share with each other and your loved ones are what will keep her memory alive long after she has been scrapped. Until next time I wish you fair winds and following seas.

 

 

 

 

698 PLAQUE AT THE PACIFIC FLEET SUBMARINE MUSEUM

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USS Bremerton Alumni participated in a campaign in support of the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum that was completed in early 2020.

 

An update from CAPT. Chuck Merkel, Executive Director at the museum:

This is a quick note to update you on our renovation.  When we broke ground in January 2019, we knew there would be challenges, but no one envisioned a world-wide pandemic.  I am happy to report that we are on track to complete our project early next year.  For the latest progress photos, I am regularly updating the drop box at this link:
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The SSN Plaque is here!

The final grand-spanking total qualified our group for the $25,000 24 inch SSN and it was created in silver to stand out from the crowd. Yes, some killer donations came through on behalf of the Bremerton to bring us up to the highest level. The result is something every BADFISH sailor can take pride in.

The inscription is a composition of several shipmates’ ideas and crafted to fit in the allowable space.

Photo courtesy of Chuck Merkel of the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum and Bowfin Memorial.

“Dedicated to the USS BREMERTON (SSN 698) Her Officers and Men

Submariners Standing Ready to Defend Our Country”

 

The WALL

 

 

698 LOOKING FORWARD

USS Bremerton, the most senior not yet de-commissioned submarine in the United States Navy, is currently at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard preparing for her date with destiny. Decom ceremony and reunion in Bremerton are tentatively scheduled for Spring of 2021, that puts BadFish on course for a 40 year run.

Cheers – from RMCS(SS) Don Jones, Plankowner, SSN698

SAVE THE 698

Join the Movement. Are you passionate about preserving the USS Bremerton in any way shape or form? Do you wish to be involved before, during and after her decommissioning in whatever works are needed to establish the memory of 698 for the benefit of the public and of naval history? You are invited to a new closed group forum on Facebook “SaveThe698” to be involved in public discussion related to Saving 698. You can see the group site by clicking HERE.

Copyright © 2019-2020 bremertonreunion.net

 

698 Alumni Search

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Based on the membership of SSN 698 related social media groups, there are roughly 300 shipmates on-line out of the estimated 1400 to 1500 or more sailors who served on the USS Bremerton SSN 698.

You may know some shipmates who are not using social media and can only be contacted by email, telephone, US Mail or by website. Please forward this information to them.

Capt. Alan R. Beam (698 CO #3), one of the key organizers of events related to USS Bremerton, requested that alumni information be gathered. In effort to consolidate contact information specifically for USS Bremerton SSN 698 alumni, a user driven database on this website has been established where contact and some service information can be entered and collected.

In the header menu you will see 698 Alumni Sign Up. There, you may volunteer your information by clicking on it and entering your contact and other requested information.

By providing some specific service info, we want to weed out imposters as well as help document a part of the history of the 698.  In order to add yourself to the database, some of the service information is not required, though all the information is requested.

This information will only be used by USS Bremerton SSN 698 event organizers and it is understood that your contact information will be used for announcements and other event business. The use of email will help reduce cost of mailing when formal invitations are not required and circumvent difficulties encountered with any given social media platform.

Please, if you are not a 698 Alumni, if you have not served aboard USS Bremerton SSN 698, do not try signing up through the 698 Alumni Sign Up.

In special cases where a shipmate has passed away and you are the primary contact for our lost shipmate, please send a message to bremertonreunion.alumni@gmail.com to request being place on the contact list. We honor the survivors who desire to maintain contact and attend events with those who shared an important part of their loved ones life in the Navy.

If there is significant interest in event info from non-698 personnel, other than survivors, another database may be created. If you are not a 698 alumni and are interested in following events, you can follow this website and/or strongly recommend the Navy League of the Bremerton – Olympic Area website at https://bremolympicnlus.wordpress.com.    You may also contact bremertonreunion.alumni@gmail.com with your request to be added to a contact list, use subject: 698 SUPPORTER with a brief description of your connection with the Bremerton and your contact information.

Keep on reading, important note below…

SIGN UP NOTE/CHECK SPAM SETTING:

The sign up tool is designed to provide you a private  link where you can manage your information, however, be on the alert, you may get this email in your spam folder. Please un-spam that email. If you have any issues with receiving the confirmation and link, you may contact this website’s administrator with any problems. Your information can be entered manually by an administrator and, if needed, your lost private link email can be resent.

If you have any suggestions for modifications to the information requested or other bright idea, feel free to contact me at bremertonreunion.alumni@gmail.com

THANK YOU

Photo Courtesy of Bob Miller

 

Copyright © 2019-2020 bremertonreunion.net

 

698 prepares for propulsion plant deactivation

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Reprinted in whole in modified format from

“USS BREMERTON CONTINUES INACTIVATION PROCESS”

 

By Max Maxfield, PSNS & IMF Public Affairs | Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance
Facility | Oct. 23, 2020

 

BREMERTON, Wash. —

 

Los Angeles-class submarine USS Bremerton (SSN 698) entered Dry
Dock 1 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance
Facility Oct. 14, 2020, to continue its inactivation process.
According to Gary Van Horn, project superintendent, while the ship
is in dry dock, the propulsion plant will be deactivated and defueled;
components and parts that might be used by other active Los
Angeles-class submarines will be removed and stored; and hull
blanks will be installed.

 

 

Van Horn said ship’s force will be working side by side with PSNS
& IMF workers to help speed the inactivation process along. Also,
the Bremerton Project Team will try to take advantage of lessons
learned from other recent inactivations of Los Angeles-class
submarines.

 

“Lessons learned from the ‘bridge and tower’ system that is being
used currently in Dry Dock 5 for defueling operations on USS
Olympia (SSN 717) and USS Louisville (SSN 724) will help with
Bremerton,” said Van Horn. “We have been monitoring their
progress closely and expect to realize time savings based on their
lessons learned.”

 

The docking portion of the inactivation process is estimated to take
about 11 months.

 

 

Bremerton departed Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, April
20, 2018, on its way to Bremerton, Washington, where it began the
inactivation and decommissioning process.

 

Bremerton was commissioned on March 28, 1981, and is named after
the city of Bremerton, Washington. The tenth ship of the Los

Angeles-class nuclear powered attack submarine, much of Bremerton’s activities remain under wraps.

 

 

Its most high-profile mission was to assist local, state and federal
officials with the disposal of the commercial tanker, New Carissa.
The vessel had been spilling oil since it was shipwrecked near Coos
Bay, Oregon, Feb. 4, 1999, and posed a danger to the environment.
Once the unified command completed work in preparation for the
ship’s disposal, Bremerton stepped in to fire one MK-48 advanced
capability torpedo to sink New Carissa March 11, 1999.

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Article provided through the courtesy of Capt. Alan R. Beam, USN (ret), USS Bremerton CO from 1985-1988.
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WARNING 

WARSHOT LOADED

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TO READ MORE ABOUT THE BREMERTON SINKING THE SHIP THAT WOULD NOT SINK, GO HERE:

Image of a Badfish Mk48 doing its duty may possibly be subject to copyright

 

 

SAVE THE 698

Join the Movement. Are you passionate about preserving the USS Bremerton in any way shape or form? Do you wish to be involved before, during and after her decommissioning in whatever works are needed to establish the memory of 698 for the benefit of the public and of naval history? You are invited to a new closed group forum on Facebook “SaveThe698” to be involved in public discussion related to Saving 698. You can see the group site by clicking HERE.

Copyright © 2019-2020 bremertonreunion.net