The Navy has given a ceremonial send-off to the USS San Juan, decommissioning the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine that spent three years in Maine.
The sub, put in retirement at Naval Base Kitsap in Washington after four decades of service, was first docked at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for an overhaul 15 years ago.
The Kittery, Maine, shipyard hosted the San Juan for a major engineering overhaul from 2010 to 2012, as seen in a 2011 Navy photo.
The work at Kittery included extensive system modernizations, structural repairs and reactor checks designed to extend the ship’s service life.
The submarine later returned to the Maine yard for routine maintenance updates.
The sub was named after the capital of the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.
The decommissioning came on the anniversary of its commissioning, Aug. 6, 1988, according to Stripes.com’s Gary Warner.
The San Juan’s usable equipment, components and weapons will be removed and the hull will be cut up for scrap, Warner reports.
The radioactive nuclear reactor and it’s compartments will be sealed and shipped to a nuclear waste disposal in Washington state.
I served aboard the USS George Bancroft SSBN-643. PNSY first Posiden Conversion in 1972 -1973. 5 Decades ago.After 6 years of Sea Duty a year at Kittery was a real vacation. I made one more patrol on the Bancroft then left the Active Navy and spent 14 more years in the Reserves in Portland.Met my wife in Charleston and settled in South Portland in 1973.23 years of service earned me a good pension. Would do it all again in a heartbeat.