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Nearly 1,400 members of Team New London witnessed a moment unique in the history of the U.S. Submarine Force, as five submarine commanders received Bronze Star Medals for their participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom during a special ceremony at the Dealey Center Theater, Oct. 20.

“Many of the submariners probably remember that during World War II, we awarded seven Medals of Honor to seven commanding officers of U.S. submarines. Three of those were awarded posthumously,” said Rear Adm. Joseph A. Walsh, commander, Submarine Group 2/Navy Region Northeast. “We also awarded two dozen Navy Crosses, as well as innumerable Silver Stars and Bronze Stars. But even during World War II, I don’t think we had a time where we gave five combat awards to five commanding officers all at the same time, at the same place. So this truly is a historic event.”

Walsh presented the awards, on behalf of Vice Adm. Timothy J. Keating, commander U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet, to USS Augusta (SSN 710) Commanding Officer Cmdr. Mike Haumer; USS San Juan (SSN 751) Commanding Officer Cmdr. Edward Takesuye; USS Providence (SSN 719) Commanding Officer Cmdr. Jonathan Kan; USS Toledo (SSN 769) former Commanding Officer Cmdr. Michael Poirer and USS Pittsburgh (SSN 720) former Commanding Officer Cmdr. Jeffrey Currer.

Each commanding officer received the award “for meritorious achievement in connection with combat operations as commanding officers of (their submarines) deployed with Commander, United States 5th Fleet,” Keating said in the citations. Each commanding officer’s “extraordinary leadership and operational skills directly contributed to (their submarines) success in firing (numerous) Tomahawk missiles, including the opening salvos of the campaign.”

“U.S. Navy and the submarine force performed superbly during Operation Iraqi Freedom,” Walsh said. “Twelve U.S. submarines and two British submarines launched nearly one-third of the 800 missiles during the conflict.”

While the awards were presented to the submarine’s commanding officers, they all agreed that this award was the result of a team effort.

“This is more than just an individual award,” Takesuye said. “It certainly has to reflect on the performance of the crews, officers and the chiefs who made this happen.”

“Because of the complexity of this evolution, one man couldn’t do it alone,” Currer added. “It had to be a team effort. Ten submarines and six surface ships in the Red Sea alone, not counting the Arabian Gulf…coordinating all those units…efficiently was a monumental task requiring impressive teamwork from all the crews, and it worked out very well.”

Even though these submarines were part of the task forces participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Walsh said it was just a matter of the submarines being in the right place at the right time, and that “the maintainers, the training and all the things that seem so mundane” validates what the Navy does on a day-to-day basis.

“For the Navy to surge six carrier battle groups, more than half our combatants, on very short notice, all staying on station, carrying out their missions, systems worked and missiles worked…that’s what we validated,” Walsh said. “It’s not a unique situation that these ships were primed and ready to go. I could pick any five submarines in the U.S. fleet, send those submarines forward and they would have all been successful.”

Providence was one example of being in the right place at the right time. The submarine was already on a scheduled deployment to the Mediterranean Sea when Operation Iraqi Freedom started.

“There’s a difference between being deployable and being deployed,” Kan said. "Certainly being deployed, we can hop into the 5th Fleet, just like we did, at a moment’s notice, and still conduct combat operations within a couple of days. But if you look at all the ships, including the ones back in homeport, they could have done the missions equally, as well.”

Even though the award recipients were proud to receive their Bronze Star Medals, the recognition was passed further on to the crews of each submarine who attended the ceremony. Each group stood up to receive applause from the audience for their contribution to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“It’s a naval tradition that the captain gets all the credit and all the blame for everything that happens on his ship,” Walsh said. “These officers would agree with me that this is an absolute team effort. That this should be a unit award as opposed to a personal award.”

“We’re certainly proud to receive these awards,” Haumer said. “But we can’t wait for the ships’ awards to come in. That will allow the crews to get their recognition, as well,” for their efforts in ensuring the success of these submarines’ missions.

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"I think men who have a pierced ear are better prepared for marriage. . . . . .
They've experienced pain and bought jewelry."

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“Many of the submariners probably remember that during World War II, we awarded seven Medals of Honor to seven commanding officers of U.S. submarines. Three of those were awarded posthumously,” said Rear Adm. Joseph A. Walsh, commander, Submarine Group 2/Navy Region Northeast. “We also awarded two dozen Navy Crosses, as well as innumerable Silver Stars and Bronze Stars. But even during World War II, I don’t think we had a time where we gave five combat awards to five commanding officers all at the same time, at the same place. So this truly is a historic event.”

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1/508th Abn Inf, 82nd Abn Div 81-83

1/4th Inf (Mech), 3rd Inf Div (USAEUR) 83-84

SGT\EIB\Recondo

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies." - Groucho Marx

1/508th Abn Inf, 82nd Abn Div 81-83

1/4th Inf (Mech), 3rd Inf Div (USAEUR) 83-84

SGT\EIB\Recondo

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies." - Groucho Marx

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Even though these submarines were part of the task forces participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Walsh said it was just a matter of the submarines being in the right place at the right time, and that “the maintainers, the training and all the things that seem so mundane” validates what the Navy does on a day-to-day basis.

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Originally posted by RedDevil

I always had a big interest in the WW2 submarine service after I read Cmdr. O'Kanes book 'Clear the Bridge' back when I was in the Army (he was XO of the Wahoo and CO of the Tang). He racked up the most ships sunk of any sub CO. Those guys (the Sub service) were the unsung hero's of WW2 IMO. They were 2% of the Navy but accounted for 50% of Japanese tonnage sunk (naval and merchant), and they paid a heavy price for doing so. Both Wahoo and Tang were both sunk. Wahoo with all hands, and Tang had like 5 survivors including Cmdr O'Kane (who ended up as a Jap POW)

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Originally posted by Dirty503


Just finished a book called 'Blind Man's Bluff' about US submarine service during the Cold War. I started it kind of expecting it to be booorrr-ing. It is a great book and I blitzed through it.

You can have living in a steel tube for 6 months at a time and not seeing daylight for weeks on end-I'll jump from a plane any day of the week over that duty... The submarine force has a brotherhood as strong as we do; those guys truly have brass ballz and nerves of steel.

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