USS ''Wyoming'' (SSBN-742) is a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

ballistic missile submarine which has been in commission since 1996. She is the fourth US Navy ship to be named USS ''Wyoming'', although it was only the third named after the state of

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

. The contract to build ''Wyoming'' was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of the General Dynamics Corporation in

Groton, Connecticut Groton is a town in New London County, Connecticut located on the Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. The Naval Submarine Base New London i ...

, on 18 October 1989 and her

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

was laid down there on 8 August 1991. She was launched on 15 July 1995, sponsored by Mrs. Monika B. Owens, and commissioned on 13 July 1996.

Service history

On 26 July 1996, ''Wyoming'' arrived at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, becoming the ninth submarine to be home-ported there. On 6 June 2012, ''Wyoming'' participated in a historic medevac exercise with a

Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventio ...

making a 12,000 nautical mile flight to collect a stretcher from the submarine. On 7 January 2018, she arrived at Norfolk Naval Shipyard to begin a 27-month overhaul to include midlife refueling, technological upgrades, and new berthing spaces for enlisted women. On 9 October 2020, she completed her 27-month overhaul and returned to Kings Bay, GA. On 17 September 2021, ''Wyoming'' conducted a successful, two-missile test flight of unarmed life-extended Trident II (D5LE) missiles on the Eastern Test Range off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida. ''Wyoming'' conducted an exchange of command at sea in January 2022. "This regularly scheduled exchange of command at sea demonstrates the continuity and operational flexibility of our sea-based nuclear deterrence operations and our ready, reliable ballistic-submarine force," said a Navy spokesperson. On 24 March 2022 ''Wyoming'' became the first ballistic submarine in US Navy history to complete a deterrent patrol with enlisted females as part of the crew.

Shower video scandal

In 2011, ''Wyoming'' became one of the first four submarines to take on female officers. During patrols from August to November 2013 and March to June 2014, four women were secretly recorded in the shower changing room, including midshipmen and officers assigned to the boat. Up to twelve male sailors, all

petty officers A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be super ...

, were implicated, though it is believed that only one of them made the recordings with a smartphone, and then shared them. Of the twelve sailors that were investigated, ten were prosecuted and convicted, with sentences ranging from prison time to reductions in pay.

Notes

References

External links

* Eight hours of interviews and footage captured by C-SPAN cameras during 24 hours spent on ''Wyoming'': * * Ships built in Groton, Connecticut Ohio-class submarines Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy Ballistic missile submarines 1995 ships Submarines of the United States {{US-submarine-stub