The Pacific Fleet's best submarines in the Pacific Fleet were announced Thursday, with the crews of seven subs and a submarine tender earning a shiny new Battle 'E' ribbon to their uniforms to kick off 2016.
The Battle Efficiency award is presented to subs and ships that were rated to have kept Battle E is awarded each year to the crew or crews of a ship that has the highest overall performance in their squadron.
The head of Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Rear Adm. Frederick Roegge, congratulated the winners in the announcement.
"Each crew member of an award winner can be justifiably proud of their contribution to improve Pacific Submarine Force readiness," Roegge said in the message. "I am extremely proud of your outstanding performance. Well done and congratulations!"
The winners for each squadron are ... drumroll, please:
- * Commander, Submarine Squadron 1, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii: Attack submarine North Carolina, skippered by Cmdr. Gary Montalvo.
- Submarine Development Squadron 5, Bangor, Washington: Attack submarine Seawolf, skippered by Cmdr. Jeff Bierley.
- SUBRON 7, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii: Attack submarine Santa Fe, skippered by Cmdr. Tim Poe and then Cmdr. Jake Foret.
- SUBRON 11, San Diego, California: Attack submarine Hampton, skippered by Cmdr. Lincoln Reifsteck, followed by Cmdr. Theron Davis.
- SUBRON 15, Polaris Point, Guam: Attack submarine Key West, commanded by Cmdr. John Thompson.
- SUBRON 17, Bangor, Washington: Ballistic missile submarine Nevada; Blue Crew led skippered by Cmdr. James McIver, and Gold Crew by Cmdr. Chad Hennings.
- SUBRON 19, Bangor, Washington: Guided missile submarine Michigan; Gold Crew led by Capt. Benjamin Pearson and then Capt. Gustavo Gutierrez, and and whose Blue Crew by Capt. Erik Burian and then Capt. Joseph Turk.
The submarine tender Frank Cable, out of Guam, also earned the Battle 'E' for its category.
Navy Times Congratulations to the hard-working crews! ulates the hard-working crews.
David B. Larter was the naval warfare reporter for Defense News.
