USS ''Salt Lake City'' (SSN-716), a , was the second ship of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

to be named for

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

. The contract to build her was awarded to

Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the sole designer, builder, and refueler of aircraft carriers and one of two providers of submarines for the United States Navy. Founded as the Chesapeake Dry Dock ...

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

on 15 September 1977 and her keel was laid down on 26 August 1980. She was launched on 16 October 1982 sponsored by Mrs. Kathleen Garn, and commissioned on 12 May 1984. Actor

Scott Glenn Theodore Scott Glenn (born January 26 between 1938 and 1942) is an American actor. His roles have included Bill Lester in '' She Came to the Valley'' (1979), Pfc Glenn Kelly in ''Nashville'' (1975), Wes Hightower in '' Urban Cowboy'' (1980), as ...

trained aboard, and was installed as (honorary) commander for a brief time, aboard ''Salt Lake City'' in preparation for his part as Bart Mancuso, Captain of in the film ''The Hunt for Red October''. ''Salt Lake City'' was featured in

The History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the General Entertainment Content division of The Wa ...

's '' Mail Call'' when

R. Lee Ermey Ronald Lee Ermey (March 24, 1944 – April 15, 2018) was an American actor and United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine drill instructor. He achieved fame for his role as Gunnery sergeant, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 film ''Full Met ...

answered viewer questions about life inside a submarine. On 22 October 2004, ''Salt Lake City'' returned from a deployment with the

carrier strike group A carrier strike group (CSG) is a type of carrier battle group of the United States Navy. It is an operational formation composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, usually an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer Squadron (naval), squad ...

in the western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

, after surging, over a month ahead of schedule, in support of Summer Pulse '04. Port calls during the deployment included

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is the second-largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. , the city had an estimated population of 230,873 in 102,670 households, and a population density of 540 per ...

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, and

Oahu, Hawaii Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northw ...

. ''Salt Lake City'' conducted an inactivation ceremony in San Diego on 26 October 2005, then departed for a transit under the polar ice. On 15 January 2006 she was decommissioned at the

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS), often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard on Seavey's Island in Kittery, Maine, bordering Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The naval yard lies along the southern boundary of Maine on ...

. Over a year later, the hulk was taken under tow, arriving on 8 May 2007 at

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted ...

, where she will be

recycled Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the propert ...

and scrapped.

Awards

''Salt Lake City'' earned numerous awards during her eight full deployments, including three Battle "E"

Battle Efficiency Award The Battle Effectiveness Award (formerly the Battle Efficiency Award, commonly known as the Battle "E"), is awarded annually to the small number of United States Navy ships, submarines, aviation, and other deployable combat coded units that win the ...

s, two

Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy and United States Coast Guard unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy A navy, naval force, military m ...

s, and four

Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or ...

s. * 29 May 2005 – 7 July 2005 –

Secretary of the Navy Letter of Commendation A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evaluat ...

* 1 July 2003 – 31 December 2004 –

''*Awarded to units assigned to Carrier Strike Group 7'' * 1 April 2004 – 31 October 2004 –

* 1 January 2002 – 31 December 2002 –

Navy E Ribbon A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

* 1 March 2000 – 31 August 2000 –

* 1 January 1999 – 31 December 1999 –

* 1 September 1998 – 1 December 1998 –

* 2 January 1997 – 24 February 1997 –

Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John F. Kennedy. The medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who, a ...

* 1 March 1992 – 1 March 1995 –

''*Awarded to units assigned to Submarine Squadron 3'' * 1 October 1988 – 30 September 1989 –

* 1 January 1988 – 1 July 1988 –

* 1 April 1986 – 1 October 1986 –

References

Navy crew bids farewell to USS Salt Lake City
*
U.S. Navy Unit Awards Database – USS ''Salt Lake City'' (SSN-716)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salt Lake City (Ssn-716) 1982 ships Cold War submarines of the United States Los Angeles-class submarines Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy Ships built in Newport News, Virginia