USS ''Georgia'' (SSBN-729/SSGN-729), an

cruise missile submarine A cruise missile submarine is a submarine that carries and launches cruise missiles (Submarine-launched cruise missile, SLCMs consisting of land-attack cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles) as its primary armament. Missiles greatly enhance a w ...

, is the second vessel 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 the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Construction and commissioning

The contract to build her was awarded to the

Electric Boat An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators. While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power ...

Division of

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales and fifth largest in the Unit ...

Corporation in

Groton, Connecticut Groton ( ) is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States, located on the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United St ...

on 20 February 1976 and her keel was laid down on 7 April 1979. She was launched on 6 November 1982 sponsored by Mrs. Sheila M. Watkins, wife of

James D. Watkins James David Watkins (March 7, 1927 – July 26, 2012) was a United States Navy admiral and former Chief of Naval Operations who served as the United States Secretary of Energy during the George H. W. Bush administration, also chairing U.S. gover ...

, the then-

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the highest-ranking officer of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an Admiral (United States), admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the United States Secretary ...

, and commissioned as a

fleet ballistic missile submarine A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. These submarines became a major weapon system in the Cold War because of their nuclear deterrence capabi ...

(SSBN) on 11 February 1984, with Captain A. W. Kuester commanding the Blue crew and Captain M. P. Gray commanding the Gold crew. This boat was later converted to a

guided missile submarine A cruise missile submarine is a submarine that carries and launches cruise missiles ( SLCMs consisting of land-attack cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles) as its primary armament. Missiles greatly enhance a warship's ability to attack surfa ...

(SSGN) for carrying guided

cruise missile A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cru ...

s instead of

fleet ballistic missile A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhead an ...

s in its missile compartment.

Operational history as SSBN

From March to April 1984 she went on her shakedown cruise and test-launched a Trident C-4 missile in the

Eastern Test Range The Eastern Range (ER) is an American rocket range (Spaceport) that supports missile and rocket launches from the two major launch heads located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. The range ha ...

on 7 April 1984. In November 1984, she arrived in her

home port A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull. In the cruise industry the term "home port" is also oft ...

Bangor, Washington Bangor Base is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kitsap County, Washington, within U.S. Naval Base Kitsap on the Kitsap Peninsula. Its population was 5,482 at the 2020 census. Geography Bangor is located north of the center of Kitsap County ...

. In January 1985 she started her first

strategic deterrence Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "troop leadership; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the " ar ...

patrol. As an element of

Task Unit A task force (TF) is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology. Many ...

14.7.1 from September 1983 to May 1986, she was awarded a

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 ...

. She was awarded her second Meritorious Unit Commendation for Submarine Operations between February 1986 to August 1986. On 22 March 1986, three miles south of

Midway Island Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; ; ) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the United States and is an unorganized and unincorporated territory. The largest island is Sand Island, which has housi ...

, harbor tug had just completed a personnel transfer from ''Georgia'', picking up a submarine crewman who was going on emergency leave, when ''Secota'' lost power and got hung up on ''Georgia''s starboard stern plane while the sub's

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

continued to turn. That sank ''Secota'' within two minutes. Ten people were rescued, including the ''Georgia'' crewman who had just transferred to ''Secota''. Two ''Secota'' crewmen trapped in her engine room were lost. While Lt. Cmdr. John Carman, a Navy spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, told the media that the ''Georgia'' was undamaged, a report sent by the Commanding Officer of the ''Georgia'' indicates that after returning the surviving ''Secota'' crew members to Hawaii, ''Georgia'' underwent emergency repairs for minor damage sustained in the collision. Her Gold crew was awarded the Comsubron Seventeen Battle Efficiency Award for 2001. On 30 October 2003, ''Georgia'' returned from her 65th and last deterrent patrol. On 7 November 2003, while ''Georgia'' was docked at Bangor, Washington, her C-4 Trident I missiles were offloaded. The process proceeded smoothly until tube number 16. When each tube was opened, a ladder was lowered into the tube so a sailor could climb down and attach a hoist to lift the missile. After attaching the hoist to the missile in tube 16, the sailor climbed out, and the crew took a break without removing the ladder. When they returned, they began to hoist the missile, pulling against the ladder and cutting a hole in its nose cone. No radioactive material was released. Three enlisted men in the missile handling team faced a court-martial. The Strategic Weapons Facility Pacific was immediately shut down and inspected by the Navy, and failed to pass. SWFPAC's commanding officer, Captain Keith Lyles, was relieved of command on 19 December 2003, followed by his executive officer, Commander Phillip Jackson, weapons officer, Commander Marshall Millett, and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Command Steven Perry. SWFPAC reopened after passing inspection under a new commanding officer on 9 January 2004. ''Georgia''s crew was unaffected.

Conversion to SSGN

''Georgia'' was redesignated to

SSGN A cruise missile submarine is a submarine that carries and launches cruise missiles ( SLCMs consisting of land-attack cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles) as its primary armament. Missiles greatly enhance a warship's ability to attack surfac ...

on 1 March 2004. In October 2004 she participated as the command node of Exercise Silent Hammer to validate and showcase the new Joint Warfare and ISR capabilities. In March 2005, ''Georgia'' entered

Norfolk Naval Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility ...

for her scheduled Engineered

Refueling Overhaul In the United States Navy, Refueling and Overhaul (ROH) refers to a lengthy refitting process or procedure performed on nuclear-powered naval ships, which involves replacement of expended nuclear fuel with new fuel and a general maintenance fix ...

. The SSGN conversion took place concurrently. The conversion and refitting work was completed in February 2008. After the refit, ''Georgia'' moved to her new home port in Kings Bay, Georgia.

Operational history as SSGN

''Georgia'' was officially welcomed home in Kings Bay, Georgia, on 28 March 2008 in a return to service ceremony attended by Governor

Sonny Perdue George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III (born December 20, 1946) is an American politician, veterinarian, and businessman who served as the 31st United States secretary of agriculture from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...

. In August 2009, ''Georgia'' began first SSGN deployment. In January 2010, ''Georgia'' earned a Squadron Sixteen battle efficiency "E" for 2009 together with an Engineering Red "E", Navigation Red and Green "N". In December 2010 a bolt was left in the submarine's reduction gears. It caused $2.2 million in damage and forced the boat into three months of repairs. One officer and several enlisted sailors were disciplined over the event. On 25 November 2015, ''Georgia'' struck a channel buoy and subsequently grounded while entering the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base. The boat was placed into drydock for inspection and repairs which cost about $1 million. The navy stated that the damage was limited to the exterior of the sub and the hull was not compromised. The commanding officer of the Blue crew at the time of the accident - Captain David Adams - was relieved of duty on 4 January 2016 by Rear Adm. Randy B. Crites. The Spanish Foreign Ministry lodged an official protest when ''Georgia'' docked at

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

in April 2022. In August 2024, ''Georgia'' was ordered by US Defense Secretary

Lloyd Austin Lloyd James Austin III (born August 8, 1953) is a retired United States Army four-star General (United States), general who served as the 28th United States Secretary of Defense, United States secretary of defense from 2021 to 2025. Before ...

to move from the Mediterranean Sea into the waters of the Middle East as a deterrent against an anticipated Iranian attack on Israel.

In fiction and documentary

*The

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

documentary ''Submarines: Sharks of Steel'' (1993) features ''Georgia'' and her crew. *''Georgia'' is featured in the 1996 science fiction film ''

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

''. *''Georgia'' is featured prominently in the 2012 naval thriller ''Fire of the Raging Dragon'' by Don Brown. *''Georgia'' is featured in the 2020 medical thriller ''The End of October'' by

Lawrence Wright Lawrence Wright (born August 2, 1947) is an American writer and journalist, who is a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' magazine, and fellow at the Center for Law and Security at the New York University School of Law. Wright is best known as ...

References

:''This article includes information collected from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

and various press releases.''

External links

* * – Life as a SSBN * – Conversion to SSGN
USS ''Georgia'' Official Navy Home Page
* USS ''Georgia'' (SSBN-729/SSGN-729) command histories –

Naval History & Heritage Command The Naval History and Heritage Command, formerly the Naval Historical Center, is an Echelon II command responsible for the preservation, analysis, and dissemination of U.S. naval history and heritage located at the historic Washington Navy Yard ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Georgia (Ssgn-729) Ships built in Groton, Connecticut Ohio-class submarines Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy 1982 ships Submarines of the United States

729 Year 729 ( DCCXXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar, the 729th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 729th year of the 1st millennium, the 29th year of the 8th century, and the 10th and ...