Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class STEVEN HOSKINS | 181019-N-LW591-004 GROTON, Conn. (Oct. 19, 2018) Vice Adm. Charles "Chas" Richard,...... read more read more
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By Chief Mass Communication Specialist Monique K. Meeks
Naval Submarine Support Center, New London, Public Affairs
GROTON, Connecticut – Vice Adm. Chas Richard, Commander, Submarine Forces, visited the Groton-area submarine community to hold all hands calls and participate in several highlight events for the submarine force, Oct. 19-20.
Richard held multiple all hands calls, Oct. 19, based on rank and military or civilian status so that he could adjust his speech accordingly and speak to submariners on their appropriate level about the current and future state of the Submarine Force.
On Oct. 20, Richard began the day as guest speaker at the christening ceremony of the Virginia-class, fast-attack submarine Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Vermont at Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut.
He then swiftly moved on to Naval Submarine Base New London for a luncheon with twenty of the base's top Sailors who had been selected as Sailor of the Year, that were to be joined by the cast and crew of the upcoming movie "Hunter Killer" during the luncheon.
Afterward, Richard participated in a pier-side ceremony at the base during which he had the honor of presenting USS Hartford (SSN 768) with the Battenberg Cup Award, recognizing the submarine and her crew as "The Best All-Around Ship in the Atlantic Fleet." Richard was presenting the award on behalf of Adm. Chris Grady, Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces, who was unable to attend the ceremony.
After recognizing both Vermont and Hartford for two milestones in their submarines' histories, Richard moved on to a highly anticipated event aboard Naval Submarine Base New London - the advance screening of the upcoming film "Hunter Killer," which tells the story of a Virginia-class, fast-attack submarine as it undertakes a mission to rescue the kidnapped Russian president from a splinter group.
As the Dealey Center Theater's 1,300 seats filled to capacity with active duty service members and spouses who had received tickets prior to the event, Richard took the stage to welcome the crowd and introduce its star actor, Gerard Butler to the stage.
"I could not be more proud to be here in Groton this weekend," said Richard. "It has truly been a fantastic few days here spending time with the best Sailors in the world!" From all hands calls and a visit to sub school yesterday, the christening of Vermont this morning, the presentation of the Battenberg Cup to Hartford this afternoon - and now to spend more time with you and the cast and crew of Hunter Killer, I am pretty amped up to be a submariner right now!"
Richard thanked actor, Gerard Butler, and director, Donovan Marsh, for spending the day with the Submarine Force and for the passion and professionalism that they put into making the movie . He then went on to remind the audience about the importance of inspiring the next generation of submariners to join the U.S. Navy.
"To all here tonight, please know that our U.S. Navy and especially, our Submarine Force, is laser-focused on warfighting, especially in today's era of great power competition ... but we are also competing for talent," continued Richard. "It's more important than ever that we find ways to inspire the next generation of warfighters to consider the Navy as a career and, hopefully, inspire our next generation of submariners."
Movies, Richard explained, often prove to be good venues to reach Americans who would otherwise have no exposure to the Navy.
"You are here tonight to see the first submarine movie on the big screen since U-571 over 16 years ago," said Richard. "I ask you to watch it not with a critical submariner eye, but with great pride that film makers and actors want to make movies about what you do. What we do every day is important, but let's be honest ... what we do every day is pretty cool too and we should be proud of this movie and how it represents our Submarine Force's character and courage."
With that, Richard introduced Gerard Butler to the stage to a booming theater of applause.
Butler told those present that it had been a joy to make the film about what they did each day, the unseen and unspoken heroes, so he hoped they get that out of the movie. To their surprise, he then went on to tell them that he would be staying in the theater to watch the movie with them because he "can't think of any better place to watch it than with the guys who it's actually about."
| Date Taken: | 10.20.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 10.21.2018 14:49 |
| Story ID: | 297168 |
| Location: | GROTON, CONNECTICUT, US |
| Web Views: | 159 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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