Over the weekend, family and friends anxiously awaited the return of USS Newport News to Norfolk Naval Station after a seven month deployment. Under the command of Cmdr. Dave Fassel, USS Newport News executed the Chief of Naval Operations’ maritime strategy by supporting national security interests and maritime security operations.
USS Newport News reached an incredible milestone of 1,000 dives and spent 137 continuous days underway, both a testament to the quality and dedication of shipbuilders, maintenance professionals and submarine crews.
“The level of dedication, teamwork, resiliency and heart this crew demonstrated during an extended seven-month deployment is just amazing,” Fassel said. “The fact that we were able to spend 137 continuous days at sea while managing our equipment status and food inventory is a true testament to the mental toughness and sacrifice every Sailor exhibited to ensure Newport News was on station when the country called upon her.”
Throughout the deployment, the City of Newport News has sought to support the crew of the submarine it shares its name with via the city-sponsored USS Newport News Liaison Committee. The committee works with the commanding officer and crew of the submarine USS Newport News and is responsible for activities that ensure a continuous interest in and relationship with the ship, its crew and the City of Newport News.
The committee also has a scholarship program in which they annually award scholarships to members of the USS Newport News crew, past and present, as well as their dependents. To date over $30,000 in scholarships have been awarded. The committee was originally created by Newport News City Council in 1987 as the committee for the commissioning of the submarine USS Newport News (SSN 750). Its purpose was to work with the Navy and the pre-commissioning unit of USS Newport News to plan and execute those city activities which would honor the ship and her crew at the commissioning in June 1989.
