Key Points – The US Navy’s Ohio-class guided-missile submarine, USS Florida (SSGN-728), completed an extraordinary 727-day global deployment in July 2024, covering 60,000 nautical miles while monitoring strategic rivals like China, Russia, and Iran.
-This nearly two-year mission, sustained through five crew swaps (Blue/Gold crews serving five-month stints), underscored the SSGN’s exceptional endurance and versatility.
-Originally a ballistic missile submarine, the converted Florida carries 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles and can deploy up to 66 Navy SEALs, functioning as a potent tool for US power projection and deterrence, highlighting critical undersea warfare capabilities.
-During the Global War on Terror, with military personnel in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines were expected to serve on long deployments. Some of these lasted as long as a year.
History Made for the Ohio-Class Submarine
This was difficult for all people in the armed services, and it led many observers and politicians to criticize such lengthy periods away from friends and families.
But what if I told you that one submarine stayed out at sea for nearly two years?
That’s right. The USS Florida, an Ohio-class guided-missile submarine, conducted a mission that lasted 727 days at sea it completed last year.
The USS Florida Is One Heroic Sub
In late July 2024, USS Florida returned from an operation that had it circumnavigate the globe and watch the maritime activities of China, Russia, and Iran.
This mission started in August 2022, and the sub traveled an incredible 60,000 nautical miles. The Florida entered the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia, and the Navy must have been ecstatic.
Extremely Difficult Mission
It isn’t easy to imagine serving that long. Even the largest U.S. submarines make enormous demands on the sailors. The subs have cramped quarters. Personnel cannot take long, luxurious showers.
There is not much privacy on board. Boredom creeps in. The food starts tasting terrible. Sailors miss home and can’t wait for the day they can breathe fresh air and see their loved ones.
Luckily for the sailors, the Navy kept these issues in mind and swapped out the crew on the Florida five times. There was a blue crew and a gold crew, and each crew served in five-month increments.
So, at least the personnel got a break and didn’t have to serve two years straight. However, sub-deployments can still be nerve-racking and strenuous. The sub’s commander was happy that the long-lasting patrol went so well.
“We have demonstrated the versatility of SSGN platform to operate anywhere at any time,” said Captain Peter French, blue crew commanding officer. “We operated in several different oceans. It’s very uncommon for East Coast submarines to deploy to the West Coast, but we managed to do an exceptional job completing the mission,” French said in a Navy news release.
The crews of sailors did get liberty breaks. There were ports of call in Greece, Guam, Diego Garcia, and the United Kingdom.
Ohio-Class USS Florida Has an Intriguing History
The Florida is one of those Ohio-class subs that converted from a “boomer” nuclear missile-carrying boat (SSBN) to a conventional guided-missile SSGN. This conversion happened in 2003 during its mid-life refueling and maintenance overhaul.
The process was completed in 2006. The Florida can blast the enemy with 154 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles and collect valuable intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance data.
The Florida can also deploy 66 U.S. Naval SEALs and in that two-year mission, you can bet that the special operators visited some exotic places for recon operations.
However, all those SEAL missions are classified.
The Florida is not a new boat. It was launched in 1981, making it one of the oldest subs in the fleet. During the lengthy deployment, it performed anti-submarine and anti-surface duties.
U.S. Undersea Warfare Is In a Class By Itself
“I can tell you from the operations we did out there, we developed lots of lessons learned and passed on several very long messages detailing all the things that we learned from what we did,” French said.
The Florida is often a newsmaker, and that is rare. The Navy doesn’t like to announce any surfacing. The Ohio-class sub arrived in the Middle East in 2023 and visited Norway later that year. Rest assured that the U.S. military was sending a message to terrorists operating in Yemen and to the Russians who invaded Ukraine.
So, the Florida is an instrument of U.S. deterrence.
What Does the Future Hold for American Submarines?
As the captain of the Florida explained, American submarines can operate anywhere at any time. U.S. lawmakers want more fast attack subs and that is a challenge for the Pentagon, and Pete Hegseth.
It will be interesting to see when the Navy tells Hegseth about how important submarines are to U.S. national security and if the new SECDEF will become an advocate for undersea warfare.
He says he wants more lethality, and subs like the Florida, who perform heroic feats, should be at the top of the mind and part of a broader military strategy for the Trump defense team.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
This first appeared last month and is being recirculated due to reader interest.
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