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USSHMJ Facts/Stats

USS Henry M. Jackson SSBN 730
Welcome Aboard Your Ship		The Honorable Henry M. Jackson (1912-1983)
The officers and crew of USS HENRY M. JACKSON (SSBN 730), take great pride in extending to you the hospitality of the United States Submarine Force. It is indeed a pleasure to have you on board as our guest. USS HENRY M. JACKSON is–your ship–and we are simply the caretakers.We have compiled some general information on this website which we hope will be of interest to you. You will find that our crew members are proud of their ship and are eager to show it off. Any suggestions or recommendations you may have as to how we can better serve you are welcome. As your hosts, we want your visit on board to be informative, interesting, and enjoyable! Have fun browsing. . .		Henry M. Jackson served on Capitol Hill for 42 years, the last 31 of which he spent in the Senate. As a dominant member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he led an important faction within the Democratic party in his support of a more aggressive role in world affairs. Senator Jackson was a strong proponent of the TRIDENT submarine program, a watchdog over U.S.-U.S.S.R. relations, and a critic of SALT. Held in the ship’s library and dating back to 1955 is a set of point papers, newspaper articles, and speeches which give clear testimony to his firm commitment to rapid development of nuclear submarines and the POLARIS program (vessels which he often called “underwater satellites”); a greatly expanded attack submarine program to counter a rapidly growing Soviet fleet; emphasis upon arctic operations; and most recently, the TRIDENT program. In 1959, after riding the USS SKIPJACK (SSN 585) at sea with (then) VADM Rickover, Senator Jackson called for the establishment of a Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Undersea Warfare because he believed submarines were “lost in a welter of naval bureaucracy.”
Senator Jackson was lauded as a true “Defender of Freedom” in a speech given on the Senate floor shortly after his death. These words are now, appropriately, found in the ship’s insignia In a September 1973 Senate speech, Senator Jackson stated the following: “If we choose the prudent course – to proceed without delay with the TRIDENT program – we can at least be certain that we will have done what we can do to support the effort of our negotiators to obtain an equitable SALT agreement if we can – and to protect our national security if we cannot. “ This submarine bearing his name is a fitting tribute to the man who so labored to keep America strong and free.
Keel Laid	19 January 1981	Precommissioning Unit Captain Ralph L. Tindal, USN 3 September 1982- 6 October 1984
Launched	15 October 1983	Blue Crew	Gold Crew
Commissioned	6 October 1984	Blue Crew	Gold Crew
Sponsored by	Ms. Anna Marie Jackson Laurence	Captain R. L. Tindall, USN Sept 1982 – Jan 1986Captain J. R. Turner, USN Jan 1986 – Mar 1988 Captain R. E. Hawthorne, USN Mar 1988 – Jun 1990 Captain A. B. Chaloupka, USN Jun 1990 – Nov 1992 Captain W. M. Elliot, USN Jun 1992 – Nov 1994 Captain C. J. Donahue, USN Nov 1994 – Jan 1997 Captain D. D. Mericle, USN Jan 1997 – Dec 1998 Commander P.D. Ims, Jr., USN December 1998 – Present	Captain Michael A. Farmer, USN Oct 1984 – Apr 1986Captain Stephen M. Buescher, USN Apr 1986 – Jun 1988 Captain Alan C. Bernard, USN Jun 1988 – Aug 1990 Captain Carl B. Dunn, USN Aug 1990 – Dec 1992 Captain Michael J. Kehoe, USN Dec 1992 – Sept 1994 Captain Robert C. Wagoner, USN Sept 1994- May 1996 Captain Frank W. Stewart, USN May 1996 – June 1998 Commander S.L. Szyszka, USN June 1998 – Present
Length	560 Feet
Displacement
Surfaced:	16,764 Tons
Submerged:	18,750 Tons
Hull Diameter	42 Feet
Draft	36 Feet
Missile Tubes	24
Complement
Officers	17
Chief Petty Officers	15
E-6 and Below	122
Total	154
The information contained here is a from the official Navy site at www.henry-jackson.navy.mil/ I have attepted to make it easier to view, and retrieve. Coments and questions concerning this information should be directed to there.