Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, USN
Keyof Elements the Nation’s Joint The Ohio-class Guided Missile/SpecOps
Photo by Ray Narimatsu
Adm. Edmund Giambastiani returns a salute during the return to service ceremony for USS Ohio (SSGN-726) at Naval Base Kitsap.
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S U M M E R 2 0 0 6 U N D E R S E A WA R F A R E
On Feb. 7, 2006 the specialoperations/guided-missile submarine USS Ohio (SSGN-726) returned to active duty, her crew anticipating a spectrum of operations and adversaries that no one could have predicted when she was first commissioned in November 1981. Then, at the height of the Cold War, Ohio was armed with 24 of the most powerful weapons ever conceived and was a vital component of the Nation’s “Triad” of nuclear deterrence – along with land-based missiles and manned bombers – against a seemingly implacable Soviet Union. Today, Ohio represents a significant milestone in transforming our Joint Force for the “long war” that the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) predicts as the future of America’s military. Ohio and her three modified-sister SSBNs, which will soon rejoin the operating forces as SSGNs, will be instrumental in helping to wage what the QDR calls “long-duration unconventional warfare, counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, and military support for stabilization and reconstruction efforts.” In this regard, and from the vantage point of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I want
