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January 13, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 7 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

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DECOMMISSIONING OF THE USS ``PITTSBURGH''; Congressional Record Vol. 166, No. 7
(Senate - January 13, 2020)

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[Page S160]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               DECOMMISSIONING OF THE USS ``PITTSBURGH''

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise today to honor and recognize the 
service of the brave veterans and servicemembers who have served on the 
USS Pittsburgh (SSN-720), one of 62 nuclear-powered, fast-attack, Los 
Angeles-class submarines that have formed the backbone of the U.S. 
Navy's submarine force. This month the USS Pittsburgh (SSN-720) will 
complete the decommissioning process in Bremerton, WA.
  The USS Pittsburgh first launched in 1984 and was commissioned the 
following year. In its 35 years of exemplary service, the USS 
Pittsburgh (SSN-720) patrolled American waters, offered logistical 
support to servicemembers around the world, and took part in vital 
missions launching strikes into Iraq during Operation Desert Storm in 
1991 and in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2002.
  The USS Pittsburgh (SSN-720) completed its final Active-Duty patrol 
on February 25, 2019, when it arrived at its home port at New London, 
CT, Naval Base. From there, the USS Pittsburgh (SSN-720) made its final 
sea journey in a rare Arctic transit, to Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton. 
It was the first and thus far only submarine of its class to make such 
a journey.
  The USS Pittsburgh (SSN-720) is the fourth U.S. Navy vessel named for 
the great city of Pittsburgh whose steel mills helped forge America's 
industrial success and now serves as a center of medical innovation and 
scientific advancement. The USS Pittsburgh (SSN-720), like its namesake 
city, represents the best of American ingenuity, duty and excellence. I 
am proud to represent Pittsburgh and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 
in the U.S. Senate, and I thank the veterans and Active-Duty 
servicemembers who have served aboard the USS Pittsburgh (SSN-720) over 
the last four decades.

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