"I think our namesake really carried through in every aspect of our tour and life here. Much like the original Kamehameha, we too can say that we allowed children to live safely. The guys were really proud to go down town into Honolulu and say ‘I’m from the KAMEHAMEHA.’ It always generated interest with the people they were talking to," said Minnich, a Malone, N.Y native.

"We were proud to represent the King," said Dickieson. "Our first crew was loaded with a bunch of great guys and we still keep in touch today."

USS KAMEHAMEHA was sponsored by Mrs. Samuel Wilder King at the launching. Her husband was one of the first Hawaiians to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy, was Governor of the territory of Hawaii, and strived for Hawaiian statehood. Following commissioning, KAMEHAMEHA joined Submarine Squadron 15, located in Guam, and while there was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation for operations. The ship was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet in July 1970 and joined Submarine Squadron 18 in Charleston, S.C. The following year, USS KAMEHAMEHA was transferred to Groton, Conn. for weapons conversion and a refueling overhaul.

Upon completion in October 1972, USS KAMEHAMEHA conducted operations off the east coast of the United States. She joined Submarine Squadron 16 in June 1973 and made patrols out of Rota, Spain. Six years later, in July 1979, USS KAMEHAMEHA rejoined Submarine Squadron 18 and made several more patrols from there. The ship was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation for operations in 1984 and 1985 as a member of Submarine Squadron 14. During that time she was selected as the Atlantic Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine Top Performer.

USS KAMEHAMEHA underwent a refueling overhaul at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard from November 1986 to December 1989. After completing a total of 63 deterrent patrols, the ship's missile systems were inactivated, and in July 1992 she was converted to a special purpose attack submarine at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. This conversion installed modifications to support the surfaced and submerged deployment of Special Operations Forces.

USS KAMEHAMEHA finally arrived in Pearl Harbor in August 1993 to become part of Submarine Squadron One. During it’s final few years, the USS KAMEHAMEHA was actively engaged throughout the Pacific fulfilling all forms of exercises and operations with allies. The ship was a regular participant in exercise Foal Eagle, a major annual exercise in which the armed forces of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States practice the combined defense of South Korea.

"Foal Eagle has historically provided significant benefit to both the U.S. and the ROK in terms of practicing combined war fighting skills," said Lt. Chap Godbey, the ship’s final Navigator, an Orlando, Florida native. "It also provided a wealth of engagement and access opportunities, and it resulted in long-term improvement in the interoperability of the forces of both nations. Ultimately, this ship has done a great deal to maintain peace through strength and engaging with our allies in the Pacific," he added.

In addition to normal submarine missions such as sea control, surveillance, ASW and strike, the dual dry deck shelter-equipped USS KAMEHAMEHA was provided the opportunity to demonstrate the tremendous flexibility and capabilities of submarine-delivered special operations forces.

The dual dry deck shelters were fitted on top of the back of the submarine, and in simple terms served as "garages" for swimmer delivery vehicles and equipment stowage such as inflatable rafts. Divers and special operations forces could deploy from these shelters while the submarine remains submerged, which afforded the covert forces to remain undetected in getting to their destination. Upon return from their mission ashore, the swimmers could again rejoin the submarine while it remained submerged. This edge in stealth made the USS KAMEHAMEHA the ship of choice for conducting such exercises.

"I wasn’t too sure about the switch to a fast-attack boat when I first heard about it," said Capt. Dickieson. "As a Trident submarine we carried a lot of power on Kam, but when I saw it following the conversion first hand I realized the Navy was putting it to good use."

KAMEHAMEHA has, in fact, carried as many as 200 troops for a short time, and did so without reducing its load of torpedoes, which are the ship’s primary offensive and defensive weapon. The conversion of the submarine showcased the inherent flexibility offered by the larger platform.

"KAMEHAMEHA very much demonstrates the ability to take a submarine and convert it from one mission (strategic deterrence) to another (special warfare). After more than 25 years of satisfying deterrence, the submarine performed outstandingly in a whole new role," Seal said.

The submarine deployed for a six-month deployment to the Western Pacific in 2000, and deployed on another four-month deployment from which they just returned in June 2001. Throughout, the crew worked closely with U.S. and allied Special Forces in pushing the envelope in covert deployment of teams.

"Now that USS KAMEHAMEHA has been inactivated, the nation has lost the dual dry-deck shelter capability, flexibility, and a dedicated platform for operations," said Godbey.

The Navy has fitted a small number of Los Angeles class submarines to carry a single dry deck shelter to afford deployment of special forces, but the smaller size of the attack submarines and less storage space limits the ability to support embarked forces and their equipment. These limits become can become problematic over longer deployments, but do still afford forces the significant unique advantage of stealth.

"The Navy does have an opportunity to re-establish this capability fully with the proposed conversion of four SSBN’s to a strike and special operations configuration (SSGN). This proposal would retain the first four Trident submarines for more than 80 submarine-years of continued service rather than decommission them before the end of their hull lives," he added. The four oldest Trident-class submarines, USS OHIO SSBN-726, USS MICHIGAN SSBN-727, USS FLORIDA SSBN-728, and USS GEORGIA SSBN-729, are under active consideration for conversion from SSBN (ballistic missile submarine) to SSGN (guided missile submarine).

These four hulls represent an enormous capital investment by the United States, and will have more than 20 years of service life remaining each. Supporters of the program indicate that they could alter the nation’s maritime capabilities in an extraordinarily innovative and cost-effective way. The SSGNs would provide our CINCs, in the near term, with extraordinary firepower, capability and versatility.

The nation would acquire a submarine capable of carrying 154 Tomahawk missiles as well as Special Forces. With such massive firepower present in-theater continuously, SSGNs would increase the U.S.’s Global Naval Forces Presence Plan (GNFPP) for Tomahawks by nearly 60% without buying a single missile. Put differently, this is about an additional Battle Group’s equivalent of Tomahawk cruise missiles during a crisis.

They could also provide the theater commanders-in-chief and aircraft battle group commanders a large special operating forces contingent (4 platoons) capable of carrying out a sustained and continuous level of Special Forces missions. Using these extremely capable submarines to accomplish other traditional "SSN" missions while in-theater would be an extraordinarily efficient use of existing submarine force structure.

However, the Navy has a limited window of opportunity to conduct the conversion prior to inactivation of the Tridents, which is scheduled to start in FY 2003. For now, submariners were focused on providing a fitting end to the ship’s regal legacy. "It’s hard to believe it’s been 36 years since we commissioned the boat," said Dickieson. "The Kam was definitely my best tour."

King Kamehameha grew up to be a great leader as early priests had foretold. When he passed on May 8, 1819 in Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawaii, his bones were hidden to protect their power. To this day, no one knows where he rests. Following the ceremony, the USS KAMEHAMEHA is scheduled to journey to Bremerton, Wash. to be formally decommissioned. The ship will be de-fueled and the hull will be cut up and recycled.

"Decommissioning the ship and transferring off leaves an empty spot in my heart. I appreciate the work of the crew and their dedication to keep it operating. I think the accomplishments of the crew and submarine created a legacy and demonstrate what the spirit of what the American people do every day," said Minnich.

August, 2001

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