By Kayla Good, Navy Office of Community
Outreach
BANGOR, Wash. – A 2010
Cleveland High School graduate and Cleveland, Oklahoma native is serving in
the U.S. Navy as part of a crew working aboard one of the world’s most advanced
ballistic missile submarines, the USS Nevada.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Tanner Meister is a missile
technician serving aboard the Bangor-based boat, one of 14 Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines.
A
Navy missile technician is responsible for the assembly, maintenance and repair of ballistic
missiles carried on submarines and their associated advanced electronics and
electro-mechanical navigation and targeting systems.
“There is nowhere else that you can do
the things that we are doing out here on the sub,” said Meister. “It’s one of
the reasons I like my job so much.”
Measuring
560 feet long, 42 feet wide and weighing more than 16,500 tons, a nuclear-powered
propulsion system helps push the ship through the water at more than 20 knots.
The Navy's ballistic missile submarines, often referred to as
"boomers," serve as a strategic deterrent by providing an
undetectable platform for submarine launched ballistic missiles. They are
designed specifically for stealth, extended patrols and the precise delivery of
missiles if directed by the President. The Ohio-class design allows the
submarines to operate for 15 or more years between major overhauls. On average,
the submarines spend 77 days at sea followed by 35 days in-port for
maintenance.
According
to Navy officials, current ballistic missile submarines, commissioned between
1987 and 1997, are reaching their end of life. Leveraging more than 50 years of
ballistic missile submarine design and operational experience, the Ohio
replacement submarine will be a cost-effective recapitalization of sea-based strategic
deterrence. The Ohio replacement also leverages Virginia class submarine
capabilities.
Lead
Ohio Replacement construction must begin in 2021 in order for the first new
submarine to commence its first strategic patrol in 2031, Navy officials
explained. Ohio replacement ballistic
missile submarines will provide the nation’s survivable nuclear deterrent
through the 2080s. The plan includes 12 Ohio replacement submarines, each with
16 TRIDENT II (D5) missiles and a 42-year service life. The 12 Ohio replacement
submarines provide the same at-sea presence as 14 original Ohio submarines
saving $20B (CY10) over the life of the class.
"Every
day I am extremely proud to lead and serve alongside the exceptionally talented
men and women of the submarine force,” said Capt. Mark Schmall, commodore of
Submarine Squadron 17, of Bangor, Washington. "Our team is filled with
dedicated, hardworking, and highly qualified professionals who hold uncommon
levels of responsibility and accountability in support of our nation’s
strategic deterrence mission. Their work ethic, commitment, and enthusiasm are
second to none!”
Meister is part of the
boat's Blue
crew, one of the two rotating crews, which allow the ship to be deployed on
missions more often without taxing one crew too much. A typical crew on this
submarine is approximately 150 officers and enlisted sailors.
A key element of the Navy’s mission is tied to the fact that
America is a maritime nation, according to Navy officials, and that the
nation’s prosperity is tied to the ability to operate freely on the world’s
oceans. More than 70 percent of the
Earth’s surface is covered by water; 80 percent of the world’s population lives
close to a coast; and 90 percent of all global trade by volume travels by
sea.
U.S.
strategic deterrence promotes global stability by preventing coercion by threat
of nuclear attack, helping prevent proliferation of nuclear weapons, and assuring
non-nuclear allies and partners the U.S. will respond if attacked, according to
Navy officials. The ballistic missile submarine force is the survivable leg of
the U.S. nuclear triad. A survivable
deterrent can impose unacceptable consequences even after being attacked.
Ballistic missile submarines will be responsible for ~70% of deployed nuclear
warheads under the New START.
Ballistic
missile submarines are an effective sea-based strategic deterrent because
submarines are undetectable when submerged and provide adequate range to allow
operations far from adversaries in broad ocean areas, Navy officials explained.
The new submarines are designed with state-of-the-art stealth to remain
undetectable into the 2080s.
According to Navy officials, because of the demanding environment
aboard submarines, personnel are accepted only after rigorous testing and
observation. Submariners are some of the most highly trained and skilled people
in the Navy. The training is highly technical, and each crew has to be able to
operate, maintain, and repair every system or piece of equipment on board. Regardless of their specialty, everyone also
has to learn how everything on the ship works and how to respond in emergencies
to become “qualified in submarines” and earn the right to wear the coveted gold
or silver dolphins on their uniform.
“The people aboard the Nevada make our patrols fun,” said
Meister. “You have to leave your family a lot but you have a separate family
onboard that can help make up for that.”
Challenging submarine living conditions build strong
fellowship among the elite crew, Navy officials explained. The crews are highly
motivated, and quickly adapt to changing conditions. It is a busy life of specialized work,
watches, and drills.
“Serving in the Navy means I get to carry on a tradition of military
service in my family,” added Meister. “I can provide protection for the people
I love back home.”