Page 22: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 2023)

Eye on the Navy

As the U.S. Navy has pivoted to the Indo-Paci? c and in- anywhere in the theater,” said Emory S. Land Commanding creased the number of submarines based here and deployed Of? cer Capt. Brent Spillner. “We can ? x just about everything in theater, the workload warranted having another tender in on a submarine, from propulsion plant and non-nuclear work

Guam to get the mission done. to the mechanical end of combat systems. The combat sys- “We have two so they can be expeditionary,” said Trask. tems electronics work is usually handled by contractors, but “USS Frank Cable is in Vallejo, California, undergoing a nor- we’re standing by to support that effort, too, as required.” mal drydocking period for maintenance; while USS Emory S. Despite being a relatively small island, it serves as a central

Land is here supporting the maintenance on my submarines.” point for defense related activities across a vast area, including

The tenders have repair and maintenance technicians from the Commonwealth of Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI) to every specialty in the Navy. “We perform the expeditionary the north, and the three “compact of free association” (COFA) rearm and reload mission to provide whatever a submarine countries in Micronesia: Republic of Paula, Federated States might need, and in many cases, what a surface ship might need of Micronesia and Republic of Marshall Islands. Like Guam,

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Darek Leary 22 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • May 2023

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