PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - The Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Mississippi (SSN 782) was named the Pacific Fleet's recipient of the Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy for 2016.
Adm. Scott Swift, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, presented the trophy alongside Rear Adm. Frederick J. Roegge, commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, on behalf of the Chief of Naval Operations to the crew during a pier side ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Aug. 30.
Swift congratulated the crew for their accomplishments. Swift specifically called out their ability to turn the resources they were provided into readiness, and then proving their readiness by conducting operations to fulfill their missions.
"On one side of the readiness coin is the ability to generate readiness,” said Swift. “That is the training phase, the basic phase, the advanced phase and all the training you have gone through the last 12 months.”
“The other side of the coin is your ability to consume readiness, and our job is to make sure those are balanced, and I congratulate you on your ability to generate that readiness in that 12-month cycle."
Swift pointed out that the broad scope of the award, and said it signaled the crew's performance was so impressive that it stood out among units from all communities in the Navy, including surface and aviation units.
The Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy is presented annually to the ship or aviation squadron in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets that has achieved the greatest improvement during the previous year based on the Battle Efficiency (Battle "E") Competition.
The competition is conducted annually to strengthen individual command performance, improve overall force readiness, and recognize outstanding performance.
Cmdr. Eric Rozek, Mississippi’s commanding officer, was very proud of the enthusiasm, hard work and dedication of the crew.
"We are very honored to have received this award,” said Rozek. “The crew worked very hard and being recognized with this award makes me proud. Our goal is to be ready to win the fight with dignity and respect and the crew has taken that vision to the next level.”
“Ultimately it is not about awards it is about people and being ready when a combatant command calls on us to execute a mission.”
USS Mississippi is the fourth and newest Virginia-class fast attack submarine to be homeported in Pearl Harbor. The submarine is 377-feet long, displaces 7,800 tons, and is equipped to carry torpedoes and Tomahawk missiles. It possesses the capacity to insert special operations forces into a multitude of environments and battlefield scenarios.
For more news from the Pacific Submarine Force, visit www.csp.navy.mil.