U.S. Navy embarks on replacements for aging Trident submarines

The first Ohio-class submarines to arrive at Naval Submarine Base Bangor are pushing 30, and the Navy is preparing to replace them.

Rear Adm. David Johnson spoke about the changeover Thursday before a luncheon crowd of Navy supporters. Johnson, as Program Executive Officer, Submarines, in Washington, D.C., is responsible for new submarine construction programs.

Fresh out of the Naval Academy, he was assigned to Bangor's Trident Refit Facility in December 1982, coming just as the USS Ohio returned from its first patrol. Much has changed since then. Silverdale was horse pastures and an Elsie's restaurant, he said. There was a Soviet Union, and a Cold War.

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