US Navy decommissions submarine USS San Francisco after 35 years of service

The U.S. Navy’s Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS San Francisco (SSN 711) marked the end of 35 years of active service with a change of command and farewell ceremony at Naval Base Point Loma, on November 4.

The submarine returned from her final six-month deployment in October this year.

Later this month, San Francisco will shift homeport to Norfolk to begin a two-year conversion process to become a moored training ship.

Following the conversion, she will be moved to Nuclear Power Training Unit in Charleston, South Carolina. She will help challenge and train a new generation of submariners through 2040.

Capt. Daniel Caldwell relieved Cmdr. Jeff Juergens as commanding officer of San Francisco during the November 4 ceremony.

“By any measure, the San Francisco has had a stellar career as an operational submarine,” said Juergens. “I’ve been extremely fortunate to be one of the few to command this fine submarine, and especially lucky to get to command San Francisco for the last three years, which have been so successful.”

San Francisco was commissioned April 24, 1981. Measuring more than 360 feet long and displacing more than 6,300 tons, San Francisco has a crew of approximately 150 Sailors and is capable of supporting various missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike warfare, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.