USS Los Angeles (SSN 688) will arrive at the Port of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 20, for a final visit that includes a decommissioning ceremony Jan. 23. USS Los Angeles departed Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Jan. 14, and is stopping in Los Angeles en route to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for inactivation.
The visit will include participation by the crew in numerous public events ongoing throughout the weekend. The Jan. 23 decommissioning ceremony will feature many former Los Angeles crewmembers, former Los Angeles Commanding Officer Rear Adm. (ret) John Shipway, Commodore of Submarine Squadron One Capt. Stan Robertson, Representative for the U.S. 46th District Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, and Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn.
USS Los Angeles has faithfully patrolled the world’s oceans for 33 years, conducting all but one of her 18 deployments in the Pacific. She is the fourth naval ship to be named after the City of Los Angeles, and is the lead ship of her class. Her many capabilities include wartime functions of undersea warfare, surface warfare, strike warfare, mining operations, special forces delivery, reconnaissance, carrier battle group support and escort, and intelligence collection.
Launched on April 6, 1974 at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry-dock Company in Newport News, Va., USS Los Angeles was commissioned on Nov. 13, 1976. She hosted President Jimmy Carter and the First Lady on May 27, 1997, for an at-sea demonstration of the capabilities of the nation’s newest fast-attack submarine. She then made her first operational deployment to the Mediterranean Sea in 1977 and was awarded a Meritorious Unit Citation.
In 1978, Los Angeles transferred to the Pacific Fleet and was assigned to Submarine Squadron SEVEN, home ported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The sub and her crew operated with distinction over the next 32 years, conducting 17 Pacific deployments. Along the way, USS Los Angeles earned eight Meritorious Unit Citations, a Navy Unit Citation, and the coveted Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Award, awarded to the Pacific Fleet’s top warship. Additionally, she was awarded her squadron’s annual Battle Efficiency "E" for excellence in combat readiness eight times. Los Angeles participated in four multinational “Rim of the Pacific” or RIMPAC exercises, and visited numerous foreign ports in Italy, Republic of the Philippines, Diego Garcia, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Australia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Canada and Singapore. USS Los Angeles’ last visit to her namesake city was from Dec. 6-12, 2006.