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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Navy submarine that bears this city's name held its farewell ceremony last weekend, marking the end of 35 years of active service for USS Alexandria (SSN 757).
The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine held its inactivation ceremony June 29 at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego — exactly 35 years to the day after she was commissioned in 1991 — drawing together current and former crew members, family, and friends before the vessel heads to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to decommission.
Eight of the submarine's former commanding officers attended, along with several chiefs of the boat and "plankowners" — members of the original commissioning crew. Among them were retired Navy Capt. Paul Norman, the ship's first commanding officer, and retired Master Chief Machinist's Mate Douglas Muller, the ship's first chief of the boat.
Rear Adm. Todd Weeks, who commanded USS Alexandria from 2011 to 2013 and served as the ceremony's guest speaker, reflected on the submarine's legacy.
"Through every chapter, Alexandria remained ready," Weeks said. "Ready in distant seas. Ready in times of crisis. Ready whenever the nation called. And while this submarine now prepares to sail into the sunset, her legacy will endure. It lives on in the Sailors who manned her. It lives on in the families who supported these Sailors."
Muller said the reunion meant a great deal.
"I am so thankful to be here for this," he said. "I am also thankful to the Navy to think highly of the boat, to bring all these people back to appreciate her one last time."
Commissioned on June 29, 1991, USS Alexandria is the third vessel in the U.S. Navy to bear the name — honoring both Alexandria, Virginia, and Alexandria, Louisiana — and the 46th Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine ever built. Her motto, "Twice as Strong," reflects that dual namesake. She was built by General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut, with her keel laid in 1987 and her hull launched in 1990. She was sponsored at commissioning by Mrs. Myrtle "Tookie" Clark, wife of Vice Admiral Glenwood Clark.
Over her lifetime, the submarine completed 14 overseas deployments across the Mediterranean Sea, Arctic Ocean, Persian Gulf, and Indo-Pacific regions, steaming more than one million miles. She supported Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, and in 2007 participated in a joint U.S.-Royal Navy Arctic exercise alongside the British submarine HMS Tireless — a mission that turned serious when an oxygen generation system aboard the British vessel exploded, killing two crew members, though Alexandria and her crew were unaffected.
She also had a Hollywood chapter. Scenes for the 2008 film Stargate: Continuum were filmed aboard USS Alexandria, with her then-commanding officer, Cmdr. Mike Bernacchi, and crew members appearing as themselves. The submarine also served as a filming location for the television series JAG and NCIS, where she appeared under the fictional name USS Cathedral City.
Cmdr. Donald Coomes, the submarine's 14th and final commanding officer, credited the crew with sustaining the vessel to the end.
"This crew's leadership has put blood, sweat, and tears into training the next generation of Sailors on board," Coomes said. "It has been a pleasure to see the Alexandria through her lifetime."
Throughout her service, USS Alexandria earned a Navy Unit Commendation, a Meritorious Unit Commendation, and multiple Battle Efficiency awards recognizing combat readiness and operational excellence.
