33 years. 21 deployments. Every ocean. The complete operational story of USS Albuquerque.
USS Albuquerque (SSN-706) was the 19th boat of the Los Angeles class — the most proven fast-attack submarine design in U.S. Navy history. Laid down at Electric Boat's Groton, Connecticut shipyard in December 1979, she was launched March 13, 1982, and commissioned May 21, 1983 under her first commanding officer, Captain Richard H. Hartman.
Over the next 34 years she would serve under 14 commanding officers, steam more than 1.1 million nautical miles — roughly the equivalent of 45 circumnavigations of the Earth — make over 1,000 dives, and call at more than 35 foreign ports across 18+ countries.
From North Atlantic cold-war patrols to Tomahawk strikes in Kosovo, from the Persian Gulf to the Western Pacific, USS Albuquerque's career spanned the final decade of the Cold War, the post-Soviet drawdown, and the entire global war on terrorism era.
Her 21 deployments took her to every ocean and to some of the most consequential naval operations of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. She earned four Battle Efficiency Awards — the submarine force's highest readiness honor — and became one of a handful of nuclear submarines in U.S. history to achieve combat veteran status.
The boat was christened by Nancy L. Domenici, wife of New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici, and her connection to Albuquerque, New Mexico ran deep: at decommissioning, the New Mexico State Senate passed Senate Memorial SM012, formally recognizing her service and the sailors who crewed her.
She was decommissioned February 27, 2017 at the Keyport Undersea Museum in Keyport, Washington — her long watch finally over.
Know another name? If you served aboard and remember a crew callsign, fleet nickname, or squadron handle we're missing, reach out through the Crew Portal — shipmate memory is the record.
USS Albuquerque enjoyed a unique, mutually supportive relationship with the city of Albuquerque throughout her career. At the ship's commissioning in 1983, the Mayor of Albuquerque presented a set of keys for a new Rolls Royce to the Commanding Officer — with one condition.
The first skipper to pilot the submarine up the Rio Grande to Albuquerque for a port visit would win the prize.
At each Change of Command ceremony, those keys were turned over from the outgoing CO to the new Commanding Officer by the Mayor or his representative — a 34-year tradition that passed through all 14 commanding officers and ended where it began: with the keys never claimed, and the Rolls Royce never collected. The challenge, per shipmate accounts, was the shallow draft of the Rio Grande and the 5,000-foot elevation of the city.
USS Albuquerque (SSN-706) is the second United States warship to be named after Albuquerque, New Mexico. The first was USCGS Albuquerque (PF-7) — a patrol frigate commissioned in December 1943 and decommissioned in February 1953. When SSN-706 was commissioned on May 21, 1983, she carried that legacy forward for another thirty-four years of distinguished service.
| # | Dates | Region | Carrier / Strike Group | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Feb 27 – May 3, 1985 | North Atlantic | Independent | Maiden deployment — 2-month extended North Atlantic patrol |
| 02 | Later 1985 | Atlantic · Port Everglades | — | Tomahawk Land Attack Missile system installed · Hosted formal dinner onboard for HRH Crown Prince of Belgium · Submarine Command Course operations at Port Everglades, FL · Nuclear Technical Proficiency Inspection |
| 03 | May – Sep 1986 | North Atlantic | — | Ports of call: Holy Loch, Scotland and Portsmouth, England |
| 04 | Jun 5 – Oct 22, 1987 | Mediterranean | USS Saratoga (CV-60) BG | 4.5-month carrier battle group deployment with Saratoga |
| 05 | 1988 | North Atlantic · Pacific · Bahamas | Carrier Battle Group | Major Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) exercise with CBG · Port visit: Haakonsvern, Norway · ADCAP torpedo target services at the Atlantic Underwater Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC), Bahamas · Shellback Initiation (Apr 22, 1988) — crew qualified "Shellback" for crossing the Equator, pairing with 1984's Blue Nose |
| 06 | 1989 | Atlantic · Homeport | — | Midshipman operations · Hosted Secretary of the Navy Richard Cheney onboard |
| 07 | Jan 3 – Apr 17, 1990 | Mediterranean Sea | Independent | Mediterranean deployment · Multinational fleet exercises · Post-deployment Depot Modernization Period begins Sept 1990 · Homeport shift: Groton, CT → Portsmouth, NH |
In 1984, USS Albuquerque completed her maiden deployment in the Atlantic Ocean. The boat and her first crew crossed the Arctic Circle and the entire crew was qualified "Blue Nose" — the submarine force's traditional honorific for sailors who operate under the northern ice.
Four years later during the 1988 deployment, the crew earned "Shellback" qualification for crossing the Equator — making Albuquerque's crew two-for-two on the great line-crossing traditions of the silent service.
| # | Dates | Region | Carrier / Strike Group | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08 | Oct 7, 1992 – Apr 7, 1993 | Mediterranean | USS JFK (CV-67) BG | 6-month JFK carrier battle group deployment · Exercises NIRIIS (Hellenic Navy, multinational) and MAGELLAN · Ports: Naples, Athens, Thessaloniki, Gibraltar, Halifax (Nova Scotia) |
| 09 | 1993 | Central Mediterranean · Ionian Sea | — | Continued Mediterranean operations · Exercise MARCOT '93 (Canadian-led, June 1993) · Port visits: France, Italy, United Kingdom, Canada |
| 10 | 1994 | Western Atlantic | — | Intense shipyard upkeep early in year (major systems upgrades) · Western Atlantic operations later in year |
| 11 | Dec 7, 1994 – Mar 17, 1995 | Western Atlantic | Independent | WESTLANT deployment · NATO exercise STRONG RESOLVE '95 · Port visit: Rosyth, Scotland |
| 12 | Jun – Jul 1995 | North Atlantic | — | Exercise MARCOT '95 with Royal Canadian Navy |
| 13 | Feb 21 – Jun 1, 1996 | Western Atlantic | Independent | ★ 83 CONSECUTIVE DAYS SUBMERGED — a career-defining underwater endurance milestone · Port: Faslane, Scotland |
| 14 | Mar 5 – Jun 3, 1997 | North Atlantic | Independent | NATO exercise LINKED SEAS · Port visits: Norway (Tromsø), Scotland, Portugal · Awarded Battle "E" — top submarine in Submarine Squadron TWO · Operated with USS Spruance (DD-963) and USS Miami (SSN-755) |
| 15 | 1998 | Drydock · Joint Task Force | — | Joint Task Force Exercises JTFEX 98-1, MARCOT '98, JTFEX 98-2, TACDEVEX 45-98, COMPTUEX 99-2 · Drydock period · Complex Resin discharge · Radio Room modifications (enabled crew to send/receive email at sea for the first time) |
| 16 | Aug 23, 2000 → | Caribbean (SOUTHCOM) | Counter-narcotics | Counter-narcotics patrol · Port: Willemstad, Curaçao |
| 17 | Mar – Sep 1999 | Mediterranean · Adriatic | USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) BG | ⚡ OPERATION NOBLE ANVIL / ALLIED FORCE — Combat Tomahawk strikes, Kosovo. 10 missiles · 4 missions · 100% hit rate. Ports: Naples, La Maddalena, Toulon, Cartagena (Spain). Hosted dignitaries onboard: former President George H. Bush, Sandy Berger (National Security Advisor), ADM Frank Bowman (Director, Naval Reactors). Earned the permanent nickname "Sure Shooter of the Submarine Force". |
During her Western Atlantic deployment of Feb 21 – Jun 1, 1996, USS Albuquerque remained submerged for 83 consecutive days — a rare underwater endurance run documented in public fleet records. 83 days is nearly three full months under the surface without surfacing — a testament to the reactor plant, the atmosphere controls, the provisions planning, and the endurance of the crew who kept the boat fully operational beneath the sea. (Source: uscarriers.net deployment history)
Operation Noble Anvil was the U.S. Navy's contribution to NATO's Operation Allied Force — the 78-day air campaign launched in March 1999 to end Serbian military operations in Kosovo. USS Albuquerque, deployed as part of the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier battle group, was assigned Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) strike tasking against strategic targets in Yugoslavia.
Over four combat missions, Albuquerque fired 10 Tomahawks. Every missile hit its target — a 100% hit rate that confirmed the crew's training and earned the boat the Combat Action Ribbon. This made USS Albuquerque and her crew combat veterans — a status rarely conferred on a submarine in the post-World War II era.
It was this deployment — and this performance — that permanently earned the boat her title: "The Sure Shooter of the Submarine Force."
Beginning in 2001 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Albuquerque underwent her nuclear Engineered Refueling Overhaul (ERO) — replacing the reactor fuel core for another decade of operations. Per the 2017 decommissioning program, the 22.3-month completion was "the fastest and most cost-effective Refueling Overhaul in shipyard history." The boat returned to Groton, CT in May 2003 and spent the rest of the year on local operations and weapons system upgrades. Most of 2004 was spent at sea preparing for the first post-shipyard deployment.
| # | Dates | Region | Carrier / Strike Group | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Jul 2004 | Atlantic · off Morocco | Multinational NATO task force | Exercise MAJESTIC EAGLE (Summer Pulse '04) — NATO multinational exercise off Morocco with three carriers: USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), USS Enterprise (CVN-65), and the French carrier Charles de Gaulle. First major exercise for Albuquerque post-ERO. |
| 19 | Oct 2004 – Apr 2005 | Mediterranean · Middle East (CENTCOM) | USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) CSG | 6-month deployment · Ports: Rota, Spain (2-month pre-deployment surge), Scotland, Portugal, Bahrain (Manama), Seychelles (Victoria), Crete (Souda Bay) · Joint Maritime Course (JMC, UK) operations |
| 20 | May 2005 | San Diego / public affairs | — | Hosted Paul Teutul Sr. and the cast of Discovery Channel's American Chopper (Orange County Choppers) onboard for a tour and filmed segment |
| 21 | Jun 6 – Dec 2006 | Mediterranean · Persian Gulf (CENTCOM) | USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) ESG | CENTCOM theater deployment with Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group · Persian Gulf operations (September 2006) |
| 22 | Late Jul 2007 | SOUTHCOM Theater · Caribbean | JIATF-South | Southern Drug Operations — Counter-narcotics patrol in SOUTHCOM area of responsibility · Port: Trinidad & Tobago · Part of the Navy's sustained support to Joint Interagency Task Force South interdiction mission |
| 23 | Feb 2009 | Mediterranean | — | Port visit: Souda Bay, Crete, Greece |
| 24 | 2009 | Atlantic → Pacific | — | Homeport change: Groton, CT → San Diego, CA (Naval Base Point Loma) — Strategic shift aligned with 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review directive to maintain 60% of the submarine force in the Pacific |
| # | Dates | Region | Carrier / Strike Group | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Sep – Nov 2011 | Western Pacific | — | 6-month WESTPAC deployment · Ports: Brisbane, Australia, Yokosuka, Japan, and Apra Harbor (Polaris Point), Guam — alongside submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS-40) · Exercise TALISMAN SABRE with the Royal Australian Navy |
| 26 | Jan – Aug 2013 | Western Pacific | — | 30,000+ nm · Ports: Yokosuka JP, Sasebo JP, Sattahip Thailand, Saipan CNMI, Polaris Point Guam (May 2013) · Exercises with Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force and Royal Thai Navy · 1,000th dive achieved during this cruise |
| 27 | 2014 | Various | — | Workup period between 2013 WESTPAC and 2015 final deployment · Details being verified from crew records |
| 28 | Feb – Aug 21, 2015 | Indian Ocean · Arabian Sea (CENTCOM) | — | FINAL DEPLOYMENT — 50,000+ nautical miles · Ports: Garden Island (HMAS Stirling, Australia), Duqm, Oman, Diego Garcia (BIOT) · Exercise LUNGFISH with HMAS Rankin (SSG-78) · Completed August 21, 2015 · Final chapter of a 33-year career |
| 29 | Oct 16, 2015 | Naval Base Point Loma, San Diego | — | INACTIVATION CEREMONY — Public event celebrating 32+ years of service, presided over by CDR Donald I. Tenney. Final public appearance before transit to PSNS Bremerton for decommissioning process |
| 30 | Oct 21, 2015 → Oct 28, 2015 | San Diego → Bremerton | — | Final transit from San Diego to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington — arrived Oct 28, 2015 to commence inactivation |
| 31 | Feb 27, 2017 | Keyport Undersea Museum, WA | — | DECOMMISSIONING CEREMONY — Formal retirement. Guest speaker: Rear Admiral John W. Tammen (Commander, Submarine Group 9). Final CO: Commander Donald I. Tenney. See full ceremony program → |
Help complete this record. A few deployment details — particularly from the late 1980s and 2014 — are still incomplete. If you served aboard USS Albuquerque and can provide dates, regions, port calls, or other details from any deployment, please contact us through the Crew Portal. Your memories are the record.