Free Republic

SILVERDALE, Wash. (NNS) -- Naval Base Kitsap (NBK) Bangor-based fleet ballistic missile submarine USS Pennsylvania (SSBN 735) was recognized as the U.S. Navy’s best Trident submarine July 25 when it was presented the 2004 U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) Omaha Trophy. The annual award is given to three operational units, recognizing their outstanding contributions to USSTRATCOM’s diverse mission of strategic deterrence. The three competitive categories are Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Command, a Submarine Ballistic Missile Command, and the original Strategic Aircraft Command. Gen. James Cartwright, commander, USSTRATCOM, made the trip from Omaha, Neb., to the NBK Bangor waterfront to publicly acknowledge the...

For over two decades, a compact, powerful warhead called the W-76 has been the centerpiece of the nation's nuclear arsenal, carried aboard the fleet of nuclear submarines that prowl the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. But in recent months it has become the subject of a fierce debate among experts inside and outside the government over its reliability and its place in the nuclear arsenal. The government is readying a plan to spend more than $2 billion on a routine 10-year overhaul to extend the life of the aging warheads. At the same time, some weapons scientists say the warheads have...