KEYPORT, Wash. -- The blue crew of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Alabama (SSBN 731) conducted a change of command ceremony at the U.S. Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport, Washington, Dec. 14, 2023. During the ceremony, Cmdr. Justin R. Grover relieved Capt. Larry J. Arbuckle as commanding officer of Alabama (Blue).
Grover is a native of Mount Airy, Maryland, and a 2000 graduate of Linganore High School. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Ocean Engineering. He subsequently earned master’s degrees from the University of Maryland, College Park, and the Air Force Institute of Technology.
“I wish fair winds and following seas to Capt. Arbuckle and I look forward to working with the entire crew to carry out the nation’s primary mission,” Grover said. “It is truly an honor to accept this position,”
Capt. Arbuckle is a 2002 graduate of the Florida Institute of Technology where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics. He also holds a Master of Science in Defense Analysis (Special Operations). Arbuckle is now the deputy commodore for Commander, Submarine Squadron Seventeen.
Alabama is the sixth naval vessel to be named after the state.
Commissioned May 25, 1985, Alabama has completed 105 strategic deterrent patrols in defense of the United States. Alabama is one of eight Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines stationed at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. It is an undetectable launch platform for submarine-launched ballistic missiles, providing the United States with its most survivable leg of its strategic deterrent forces.
Date Taken: | 12.14.2023 |
Date Posted: | 01.22.2024 12:10 |
Story ID: | 462193 |
Location: | KEYPORT, WASHINGTON, US |
Web Views: | 101 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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