SAN DIEGO – Seaman Jessie Lindsay, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, serves the U.S. Navy assigned to USS Scranton, a fast-attack submarine homeported at Naval Base Point Loma.
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| Photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Sean Furey, Navy Office of Community Outreach |
As a submariner, Lindsay is part of a small percentage of Navy personnel continuing a 125-year tradition of service under the sea to help ensure Americans’ safety.
Lindsay graduated from Kirkwood High School in 2024.
The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in St. Louis.
“A lesson that I learned in the Navy is that not everyone is raised the same way,” Lindsay said. “Some people will have a different perspective than you.”
Lindsay joined the Navy one year ago. Today, Lindsay serves as a yeoman (submarine).
“My cousin is already serving in the U.S. Navy,” Lindsay said. “He has been a role model in my life and advised me that I should enlist.”
Known as America’s “Apex Predators,” the Navy’s submarine force operates a large fleet of technologically advanced vessels. These submarines are capable of conducting rapid defensive and offensive operations around the world, in support of U.S. national security.
There are three basic types of submarines: fast-attack submarines, ballistic-missile submarines and guided-missile submarines.
Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarines, like Scranton, have been the backbone of the submarine force for the last 40 years, with approximately 23 in service. Fast-attack submarines are designed to hunt down and destroy enemy submarines and surface ships; strike targets ashore with cruise missiles; carry and deliver Navy SEALs; conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions; and engage in mine warfare.
Equipped with 12 Vertical Launch System tubes for firing Tomahawk cruise missiles, Scranton is only slightly longer than a football field at 360 feet long and 33 feet across at its widest point. Scranton is crewed by more than 140 enlisted sailors and officers.
Strategic deterrence is the nation’s ultimate insurance program, according to Navy officials. As a member of the submarine force, Lindsay serves aboard a platform capable of bringing the fight to enemies in defense of America and its allies.
Lindsay has many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during military service.
“My biggest accomplishment that I am most proud of in my short time in the Navy has been graduating from boot camp,” Lindsay said. “That, along with working hard and being able to focus on the good things, has changed my life.”
This year, the Navy is commemorating its contribution to the nation’s defense as the United States celebrates 250 years of independence. According to Navy officials, for more than 250 years, the Navy has sailed the globe defending freedom and protecting prosperity.
With 90% of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the internet relying on the security of undersea fiber optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to recruiting and retaining talented people from across the rich fabric of America.
“Serving in the Navy is an honor and a privilege,” Lindsay said. “I’m proud that I am able to be a part of something bigger than myself.”
Lindsay is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.
“I would like to thank my mom and my brothers back home,” Lindsay said. “They have instilled in me that there is good in everything.”