Photo By Wendy M Hallmark | 241213-N-GD259-1038 Bremerton, Wash. (Dec. 13, 2024) – Crewmembers assigned to the...... read more read more
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Embarking a ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) is akin to entering a universe unto itself. The black metal hull belies the unique culture and nuanced ecosystem contained within its walls. Descending the ladder is disorienting—like Alice following the rabbit hole—one is thrust into a novel environment with walls adorned with artifacts paying homage to the state, city, or territory it is named after.
Continuing deeper reveals passages just barely wide enough for a person to fit through, with nearly every inch of space filled with sensitive equipment. In one important way, however, the SSBN is exactly the same as the rest of the fleet – its most important asset is its highly trained Sailors. That’s why building a culture that motivates Sailors to continue to serve is so critical.
The USS Pennsylvania (SSBN 735) is one of 14 Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines in the U.S. Navy’s arsenal and one of eight assigned to Commander, Submarine Group 9, located at Naval Base Kitsap – Bangor in Silverdale, Washington. Nicknamed the “Keystone of Defense” in reference to its namesake state, the Pennsylvania was awarded the 2024 Retention Excellence Award (REA).
The REA is an annual award that recognizes superior command accomplishment in executing programs and policies that best enable Sailors to succeed in their careers and retain talent at all levels, ensuring the Navy has the right personnel to meet its mission.
Pennsylvania also had the distinct honor of being named Best-in-Class for Pacific Fleet SSBNs. Established in 2023 as an additional honor to the REA program and voted on by the unit’s type commander—Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet in Pennsylvania’s case—the Best-in-Class distinction is given to the top command in each of 18 different sea-duty platform types. Each platform type has a winner named from U.S. Fleet Forces Command and U.S. Pacific Fleet.
A significant achievement at any time, this honor is even more remarkable, given the fact that Pennsylvania earned the distinction during an arduous maintenance period. While time spent in the shipyard is essential for maintaining the Navy’s SSBN fleet in top condition to meet strategic requirements, it also presents unique challenges for a group of warfighters itching to go to sea.
Spend more than a few minutes aboard the award-winning boat, and it becomes clear that the core of Pennsylvania’s resilience during this period is its culture. From the captain to the chief of the boat, and the sonar technicians on the deck plates, a growth mindset has allowed the boat to succeed in retaining top talent despite its challenging shipyard environment.
Developing and instituting an effective and successful organizational culture is a challenge under the best circumstances. It involves a clear understanding of the mission, the crew, and how members within the organization respond to information. It’s not enough to tell people what the boat’s culture is—rather, the crew needs to embrace the philosophy organically.
For Cmdr. Luke Kelvington, commanding officer of Pennsylvania’s Gold Crew (SSBNs employ a two-crew concept, enabling the unit to maximize time at sea), the culture he’s instilled begins with his core belief that all people make mistakes—but that mistakes are essential for personal and professional development.
Initially, Kelvington was surprised to hear about Pennsylvania’s REA and Best-in-Class distinction but he acknowledged that the command career counselor had done a tremendous job getting Sailors to re-enlist.
“We were mostly just focused on the culture, and I didn’t even know what was required to get the Retention Excellence Award, let alone the Best-in-Class,” said Kelvington.
The Pennsylvania culture—one where Sailors are empowered to grow from their mistakes rather than face punishment or reprimand—begins when they walk aboard on their first day.
“During the check-in process, I look our Sailors in the eye and say, ‘you and I are fallible human beings, and we’re going to make mistakes.” He continues, “I also believe that our human nature is to run, hide, cover, and blame. It’s not in our nature to go and expose our faults and tell someone we screwed up—but being able to admit your mistakes and grow from them is critical.”
For the captain, fostering an environment where mistakes are viewed as an essential component of growth helps develop trust within the crew, allowing for a healthier workplace.
When asked whether he’s made any mistakes and how they impacted his command philosophy, Kelvington points to his engineer tour as one such moment. During the return from a challenging deployment, the ship embarrassingly failed an inspection during their return to port transit. It was one of the last things the crew expected after a successful deployment, but it provided a necessary dose of humility.
Upon reflection, Kelvington assessed the missing element was a deeper purpose tied to their training. They were simply going through during drills rather than using them for true evaluation. They were reinforcing bad habits, drifting further from established norms, and creating extensive damage to their culture. Daily actions were not tied to a larger purpose, and the result was failure.
“Humility means putting others before self and team before individual,” reflects Kelvington. “It requires an investment in character development, possession of a willingness to learn, and the self-awareness to know when to ask for help.”
With their egos checked, the ship set out to reestablish a healthy culture prioritizing personal growth and trust. They worked to remove sarcasm and self-defeating phrases like “That’s the way it’s always been,” from their vernacular. Slowly but surely crew morale improved, trust was restored to the qualification process, and the subpar evaluation became a springboard to success instead of an indication of failure.
Kelvington took those valuable lessons learned and imbued them into his ethos as a leader. Today, he and his crew are a source of steady guidance and direction for the ship, which is especially important during a maintenance period when it would be easy to get bogged down in the daily minutiae. While the CO is the prime mover for establishing command culture, the chief of the boat (COB) is integral to maintaining and sustaining a growth mindset.
Aboard Pennsylvania, the COB is Master Chief Chris Moulthrop, whose Navy journey began on a golf course in Charleston, South Carolina.
“I joined [the Navy] because of 9/11. I very vividly remember being out golfing on the ninth hole, and the lightning alarm sounded even though it was a beautiful day. I walked in to see the news of the attack, and I immediately left everything and went to a recruiting station.”
The COB role is unique to the submarine force. While other Navy communities have a command master chief or senior enlisted leader, a submarine is the only place that you will find a COB.
When asked to describe what a COB does for the boat, Moulthrop responds immediately, “I’m papaw, right? I’m Grandpa. It’s a different relationship from the captain’s with the crew. I’m a friend. I’m a mentor. I’m a disciplinarian.” He continues, “I’m a source of comfort and trust. That’s been my goal since day one. The crew understands what my purpose in life is—and that purpose is them. I’m there to make sure they grow as a person. That’s been my mission since I got to the boat.”
o Moulthrop, a major reason for their boat winning the REA and Best-in-Class is because leadership puts an emphasis on taking care of each and every Sailor aboard, ensuring the crew is afforded the opportunity to tend to their personal lives.
Discussing what he feels is the most important factor in retaining talent, Moulthrop states, “You need to make sure that Sailors understand that they are not a number and to make it clear to them that they have the trust, the respect, and the dignity that is deserved of someone who is coming into the Navy. Reinforcing that mentality for the crew has been a major focus for the captain and me.”
To further emphasize this point, the COB pauses and points to the calendar hanging in the captain’s stateroom. He points out the annotated notes on the calendar and describes how, when a crew member has an important family day—like a wedding anniversary or child’s birthday—they are able to input that into the tracker as a protected day.
“We do ask a lot of our families, and we want our Sailors to know that we will move the world for them to have some family time and to take care of themselves as well,” says Moulthrop. “That’s definitely one of those seeds that’s helping us to continue to grow.”
One of the most poignant aspects of the conversation with the COB is the way his love and admiration for the crew shines through. His original comparison to grandpa of the boat is unquestionably apt. Discussing what he’s most excited about, Moulthrop smiles, his eyes alight with excitement.
“I really want to see what this crew can do operationally. Seeing what they’ve done in the yards, I can’t wait to get out to sea and do the strategic deterrent mission. That is going to be an amazing feeling.”
Conversations with the crew reflect that Kelvington and Moulthrop have been successful in building an environment where the crew feels empowered—willing to grow and develop without fear of failure.
For Sonar Technician (Submarines) 2nd Class Thomas Ditizio, his own Navy future past the end of his initial contract was unclear. The Redding, Pennsylvania, native wasn’t sure exactly what the fleet would be like, or how he would enjoy his job as a sonar technician. But after just a short time aboard his mind was made up.
Asked to describe the culture aboard in his own words, Ditizio takes a brief moment to gather his thoughts, then states, “I can’t help but think of that old World War II thing with a can-do attitude. Pennsylvania Sailors are versatile—if there’s something we have to do, we’re going to get it done.”
“After a few months of checking in I realized how much I love my job, and even though it can be frustrating in the yards, seeing the long-term goal and knowing the work we’re doing is going to pay off makes it worth it.” Ditizio continues, “This boat has made my decision a lot easier, and I was steadfast wanting to reenlist.”
When Electronics Technician (Nuclear) 2nd Class Dustin Hayes from Steelhead, Missouri, is asked the same question, his response echoes the themes his CO and COB have worked so hard to establish aboard the ship.
“Everyone understands there is a lot of growth that happens with first-tour Sailors. The command gets that and builds around that growth,” says Hayes. “Everyone is as friendly as can be. It’s very much a mindset that we’re all different—and that’s what’s going to make us better.”
For Hayes, that understanding of first-tour Sailor growth was evident when he accidentally de-energized a piece of equipment. Rather than face harsh criticism, it was turned into an opportunity to learn and improve future evolutions.
“We critiqued the issue, talked about what went wrong and how we could do better in the future, and that was that,” reflects Hayes.
One of the individuals Kelvington credits most for the REA is the boat’s command career counselor, Sonar Technician (Submarines) 1st Class Dalton Millerdick, from Vacaville, California. The admiration goes in both directions, with Millerdick praising Kelvington as, “a captain who makes it a point to know us on a personal level. I’ve never had a captain more involved with me—he actually cares about us and it’s obvious.”
Family is one of the primary reasons Millerdick is staying in the Navy. Despite the challenges the seafaring service inevitably forces families to confront, he is grateful for the resources that allow him to provide for his loved ones. Consequently, Millerdick is committed to ensuring other Sailors get those same resources and opportunities.
“I was just able to get a Sailor a $160,000 reenlistment bonus last week,” describes Millerdick. “He wasn’t going to reenlist, and the fact that I was able to get that for him was a great feeling. They earned it—I just help them get what they deserve.”
Walk around the Pennsylvania’s passageways, and you’ll start to feel the culture seep into your psyche. Turn a corner, and there is a sketch from the captain reminding the crew to “use their best punch” and “ring the bell.” The boat itself hums with an energy that is impossible to replicate anywhere else in the world—one of the nation’s most lethal assets poised to return to its undersea domain.
| Date Taken: | 09.23.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.24.2025 12:29 |
| Story ID: | 549108 |
| Location: | BREMERTON, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 326 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Ring The Bell: How the ‘Keystone of Defense’ Built A Winning Culture, by LT Zachary Anderson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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