US Navy submarine USS Asheville (SSN 758) completed her homeport shift from Pearl Harbor arriving at Naval Base Guam on December 14.
Asheville replaced USS Chicago (SSN 721) as Guam’s fourth forward-deployed Los Angeles-class attack submarine. Chicago shifted homeport to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in September 2017.
“It’s great to be reunited with family and friends on Guam who made the move in anticipation of our arrival,” said Capt. Paul Pampuro, Asheville’s commanding officer. “The crew has been through a demanding maintenance and training period to prepare for our homeport shift, and we are excited to begin our next chapter at the tip of the spear.”
“Changing a submarine’s homeport requires a lot of coordination and communication across different organizations,” said Pampuro. “Thankfully, we have dedicated teams in Guam and Hawaii who worked to ensure we had a smooth transition.”
Asheville completed a scheduled engineered overhaul in November at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. While in overhaul, the ship’s systems were upgraded to ensure Asheville will be able to meet future tasking as one of four forward-deployed submarines on Guam.
“Guam is arguably the US Navy’s most vital submarine homeport,” said Pampuro, “The operations out here are incredible, and the people of Guam are friendly and welcoming. Guam is a hidden gem and I am thrilled to finally be back here with my incredible crew”
Asheville was commissioned in September 1991 and is the fourth ship of the US Navy named for the city of Asheville, North Carolina. Measuring more than 360 feet long and displacing more than 6,900 tons, Asheville has a crew of approximately 150 sailors.
Asheville is assigned to COMSUBRON 15, which is located at Polaris Point, Naval Base Guam in Apra Harbor, Guam, and consists of four Los Angeles-class attack submarines. The COMSUBRON 15 staff is responsible for providing training, material and personnel readiness support to these commands. Also based out of Naval Base Guam are submarine tenders USS Frank Cable (AS 40) and USS Emory S. Land (AS 39).