View source for USS West Virginia (SSBN-736)

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{other ships|USS West Virginia}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin |infobox caption=yes}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=File:Flickr - Official U.S. Navy Imagery - USS West Virginia off the coast of Georgia..jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''West Virginia'' (SSBN-736)
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1990}}
|Ship name=
|Ship namesake=The [[U.S. state|State]] of [[West Virginia]]
|Ship ordered=21 November 1983
|Ship builder=[[General Dynamics Electric Boat]], [[Groton, Connecticut]]
|Ship laid down=24 December 1987
|Ship launched=14 October 1989
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. Erma Byrd
|Ship purchased=
|Ship commissioned=20 October 1990
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship captured=
|Ship status={{Ship in active service}}
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship homeport=[[Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay|Kings Bay]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
|Ship motto=*''Montani Semper Liberi''
*("Mountaineers are Always Free")
|Ship nickname=''The Silent Mountaineer''
|Ship badge=[[File:736insig.png|150px]]
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Ship class={{sclass|Ohio|submarine|0}} [[ballistic missile submarine]]
|Ship displacement={{Ohio class ballistic missile submarine displacement}}
|Ship length={{Ohio class ballistic missile submarine length}}
|Ship beam={{Ohio class ballistic missile submarine beam}}
|Ship draft={{Ohio class ballistic missile submarine draft}}
|Ship propulsion={{Ohio class ballistic missile submarine propulsion}}
|Ship speed={{Ohio class ballistic missile submarine speed}}
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth={{Ohio class ballistic missile submarine depth}}
|Ship capacity=
|Ship complement={{Ohio class ballistic missile submarine complement}}
|Ship troops=
|Ship time to activate=
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament={{Ohio class ballistic missile submarine ssbn armament}}
|Ship armour=
}}
|}

'''USS ''West Virginia'' (SSBN-736)''' is a [[United States Navy]] {{sclass|Ohio|submarine|0}} [[ballistic missile submarine]]. She has been in commission since 1990. She is the third U.S. Navy ship to be named for [[West Virginia]], the 35th [[U.S. state|state]], and the 11th of 18 ''Ohio''-class submarines.

==Construction and commissioning==
{{stack|[[File:USS West Virginia (SSBN-736).jpg|300px|thumb|USS ''West Virginia'' (SSBN-736) at [[Port Everglades, Florida]], on 4 May 1994.]]}}
The contract to build ''West Virginia'' was awarded to the [[Electric Boat]] Division of [[General Dynamics]] Corporation in [[Groton, Connecticut]], on 21 November 1983 and her [[keel]] was laid down there on 24 December 1987.  She was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] at Electric Boat in Groton Connecticut on 14 October 1989, sponsored by Mrs. Erma Byrd, wife of [[United States Senator]] [[Robert C. Byrd]] of West Virginia, and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 20 October 1990, in the dry-dock of the Kings Bay Georgia Submarine Base, with [[Captain (naval)|Captain]] J. R. Harvey in command of the Blue Crew and Captain Donald McDermott in command of the Gold Crew.

==Service history==
''West Virginia'' is based at [[Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]].<ref name="militarytimes.com">
{{cite news
 |last        = Tighman
 |first       = Andrew
 |url         = http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2009/01/navy_firedskipper_123008/
 |title       = Boomer CO fired over personnel problems
 |work        = [[Military Times]]
 |date        = 4 January 2009
 |url-status=dead
 |archiveurl  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110521185507/http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2009/01/navy_firedskipper_123008/
 |archivedate = 21 May 2011
}}</ref>

{{Expand section|History needed for 1990-2008.|date=December 2009}}

On 29 December 2008, Captain Daniel Mack, commander of [[Submarine Squadron 16/20]], relieved ''West Virginia''{{'}}s [[commanding officer]], [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] Charles "Tony" Hill, of command "due to a loss of confidence" in Hill{{'}}s ability to command.  Captain Stephen Gillespie was assigned as ''West Virginia''{{'}}s temporary commanding officer.<ref name="militarytimes.com"/>

In September 2010 the approximate 300 Sailors assigned to the two crews that alternate patrols on ''West Virginia'' merged into one crew of about 110 sailors during the overhaul and refueling, which was done at the Norfolk Navy Shipyard (NNSY) in Portsmouth, Virginia, beginning in early 2011.<ref>{{cite news |title=USS West Virginia Combines Crews |url=http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=56058 |work=Navy News Service |date=17 September 2010 |id=NNS100917-07}}</ref> Commander Adam D. Palmer relieved Commander Steven K. Hall as commanding officer of ''West Virginia'' during a change of command ceremony 9 September at Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia.<ref>{{cite news |title=USS West Virginia Changes Command |url=http://kingsbayperiscope.jacksonville.com/military/periscope/2011-09-14/story/uss-west-virginia-changes-command |work=The Periscope |first=Kevin |last=Copeland |date=14 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020141716/http://kingsbayperiscope.jacksonville.com/military/periscope/2011-09-14/story/uss-west-virginia-changes-command |archivedate=20 October 2014 }}</ref> Commander Joseph W. Coleman relieved Commander Palmer during a change of command ceremony 25 November 2014 at St. Mary's Waterfront in St. Mary's, Georgia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kingsbayperiscope.jacksonville.com/military-periscope/2014-12-03/story/west-virginia-blue-changes-command#.Vz6SpGNsvzI|title=West Virginia Blue changes command|date=2014-12-03|website=Kings Bay Periscope|language=en-US|access-date=2016-05-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617161229/http://kingsbayperiscope.jacksonville.com/military-periscope/2014-12-03/story/west-virginia-blue-changes-command#.Vz6SpGNsvzI|archive-date=17 June 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 24 October 2013, ''West Virginia'' departed Norfolk Naval Shipyard after a thirty-month refuel and overhaul. On 3 November 2013 she returned to her homeport of Kings Bay, Georgia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://jacksonville.com/military/periscope/2013-11-06/story/uss-west-virginia-returns|title = USS West Virginia returns}}</ref>

On 25 October 2022, ''West Virginia'' became the first SSBN to dock at remote British territory island of Diego Garcia .<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/12/02/politics/us-navy-submarine-port-visit-indian-ocean |title=US Navy sends a message to adversaries with a rare submarine port visit in Indian Ocean }}</ref>
==Community Support==
''West Virginia''{{'}}s Blue and Gold crew members regularly return to the state of West Virginia to participate in parades, community service projects and initiatives. West Virginia's commissioning crew established a relationship with the West Virginia Children's Home (WVCH) in 1990. WVCH Director Carson Markley, who attended the ship's commissioning, appreciates the special bond between the ship and the WVCH.<ref name="WVCH">
{{cite news
|url=http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=50453
|title=West Virginia Supports Her Namesake
|work=Navy News Service
|id=NNS100110-01
|first=MCS1 Kimberly
|last=Clifford
|date=1 August 2010
}}</ref>

{{blockquote|The children at the West Virginia Children's Home have generally been neglected, abused and feel that no one cares for them. The crew of USS West Virginia almost immediately, upon arriving at the home, began to show concern and a real understanding for not just a few, but all the kids they come into contact with,|Carson Markley.<ref name="WVCH" />}}

==''West Virginia'' in fiction==
*In [[Tom Clancy]]'s 1994 novel ''[[Debt of Honor]]'', ''West Virginia'' is one of several submarines sent to deal with a [[Japan]]ese [[invasion]] of the [[Northern Mariana Islands]]. She is used as a "slow-attack" submarine, relying on her stealthiness and her [[torpedo tube]]s in combating Japanese forces.
*In one scenario of the [[History Channel]] series Doomsday, ''West Virginia'' and her crew are (briefly) the last surviving remnant of Earth after it is destroyed by a rogue planet, momentarily kept preserved in ocean water sucked off the planet.

==References==
{{reflist}}
*{{Naval Vessel Register|{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=SSBN736}}}}
*{{navsource|08/08736|USS West Virginia}}

{{Ohio class submarine}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:West Virginia (SSBN-736)}}
[[Category:Ships built in Groton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Ohio-class submarines]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:1989 ships]]
[[Category:Submarines of the United States]]