Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Jason Swink | JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM (Nov. 10, 2015) Members of the Rotary Club of Honolulu...... read more read more
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By Lt. j.g. Richard Parker
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii - The Pacific Submarine Force hosted the Rotary Club of Honolulu at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for their annual Veterans Day meeting Nov. 10.
The event, attended by more than 60 business and civic leaders of the Honolulu Rotary, included a brief by Rear Adm. Frederick J. "Fritz" Roegge, commander of Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, as well as tours of two Los Angeles-class fast attack submarines.
The Rotarians were briefed on the mission of the Pacific Submarine Force and introduced to topics including submarine operations, types of submarines in service throughout the world, and emerging opportunities throughout the world including operations in the Arctic and unmanned submersible vehicles.
"This is an exciting time to be a naval officer," Roegge said. "It's an exciting time to be a submariner."
The key to American success in Pacific submarine operations is the quality of people in the submarine force Roegge said.
"The entire military is an all-volunteer force, but the submarine force involves a level of volunteerism beyond that," said Roegge, noting the extensive level of qualifications that Sailors must achieve in order to join the submarine service. "If you walk into the recruiting office, you can be assigned to any job in the Navy, but you have to ask to become a submariner and we have to agree to take you."
Roegge expressed high praise for young crew members aboard U.S. submarines, who are highly qualified and enthusiastic about their service.
"I think you'll find that the quality of young people is tremendous," Roegge told the audience. "I want you to be impressed by how young they are, and in particular I want you to be impressed with how proud they are of their submarine, their submarine service and the opportunity to tell you about what they do. So I hope you'll create an opportunity to ask them about that."
David Shanahan, deputy dean of the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies and a past president of the Honolulu Rotary, expressed appreciation for Roegge's presentation and for the Pacific Submarine Force's hosting of the special Veterans Day event.
"We can't begin to adequately thank you, to allow us to see firsthand that of which few have a clue," Shanahan said. "The Navy's capability today has been shown to us all, and its impressive power has held us enthralled."
Following the presentation, Shanahan noted that he felt the Pacific Submarine Force was in good hands, adding that the Rotarians would continue to support the submarine community.
The Los Angeles-class fast attack submarines USS Santa Fe (SSN 763) and USS Houston (SSN 713) hosted the community leaders for tours following the briefing.
"We were absolutely delighted to have the Honolulu Rotarians aboard USS Santa Fe," said Cmdr. Jacob Foret, commanding officer of USS Santa Fe. "This was a great chance to showcase one of the Navy's finest submarines, and to introduce them to an exceptional crew dedicated to their ship and serving their country."
Following the tour of USS Santa Fe, Honolulu Rotary member Alice Tucker said, "I am filled with pride over our splendid military and the excellent way they carry out their assignments."
"For those of us who had never been on one before, the submarines were, to be sure, amazing machines," Tucker added. "Everyone on the submarines treated us like visiting royalty, and our hosts were totally informative, entertaining and ever-patient."
The Rotary Club of Honolulu, founded in 1915, has more than 200 members committed to philanthropic service across the island of Oahu.
Submarine Force Pacific provides anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, precision land strike, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and early warning and special warfare capabilities to U.S. Pacific Command, and strategic deterrence capabilities to U.S. Strategic Command.
For more news from Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, visit www.csp.navy.mil.
| Date Taken: | 11.10.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.13.2015 22:14 |
| Story ID: | 181955 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 304 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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