THE MEN OF MICHIGAN

On Watch, The Men of Michigan

Tonight as we sleep, they are there, “On Watch” -- guarding over you and your family. You can’t see them. Or hear them. They are, in fact, invisible to the world. They are the officers and men of the guided missile Trident submarine USS MICHIGAN (SSGN 727). As we sleep, these men are on patrol, safeguarding the freedoms we cherish.

“Deep, Beneath the Sea, on Patrol,
The Men of Michigan.”

So began the ode I penned in 1986 when I first embarked as a Navy Reserve officer on our state’s namesake warship -- USS MICHIGAN. At that time, she was the second of the Ohio class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs.) Each of our current SSBNs are armed with 24 multiple-warhead, inter-continental ballistic missiles. That’s more destructive power that all the bombs dropped by the Allied and Axis powers in World War II. First commissioned in the early 1980’s, the SSBNs kept us safe and played a major role in the winning of the Cold War. All because they were there, “On Watch”, 24/7, for months at a time.

“Deployed from home, undetected she roams,
Keeping the peace, The Mission of Michigan.”

MICHIGAN, along with the other first three Trident SSBNs , (OHIO, FLORIDA and GEORGIA,) has been converted to SSGNs --guided missile submarines. Twenty-two of her 24 missile tubes now hold seven Tomahawk land attack missiles. Tubes number one and two are lock-out chambers, allowing for the clandestine insertion and retrieval of Navy Seals or other Special Operation Forces. The ship is so large, (560 feet in length, 42 feet in beam,) she can berth 66 elite war fighters in addition to her crew of 159. MICHIGAN, by the way, can also carry a mini-sub. Just in case.

The SSGNs provide our Navy with an unprecedented combination of strike and special operations mission capability in the ultimate stealth platform. Our enemies will never know we are there until the Tomahawks take them out. MICHIGAN can launch a single Tomahawk or all 154. Launching all of them takes a few minutes, but they are programmed to land at their designated targets at the exact same second. Boom! The bad guys are gone without having time to make a cell phone call to alert their fellow terrorists in different, (and now smoking,) locations.

“Back in the states, on Christmas and all other dates,
Our freedoms kept safe, by the Men of Michigan.”

Recently, I had the privilege to be part of a small group of Michigan residents invited to sail aboard our state’s namesake warship for nine hours in Pacific waters off of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Known as a “distinguished visitor,” (DV) day sail, it was a grand opportunity to demonstrate how well some of our tax dollars are spent. The cost of getting to and from Hawaii was paid for by each DV. All of us agreed that it was the best investment we ever made.

For nine hours, we saw every inch of the ship, with the exception of the nuclear reactor and the classified radio room. Before we submerged for some five hours, each of us had the opportunity to climb from “Control,” (where the periscopes are located and the ship is conned,) 35 feet straight up a narrow ladder to the “Sail”. It wasn’t a easy climb and there no one behind you to catch you if you slipped. But, the watch teams of the men of MICHIGAN scale and decent these ladders in seconds every time they submerge and surface.During our embark, we met most of the crew members and even delivered a birthday card to Petty Officer First Class Adam Merkel, a ten-year Navy veteran from Macomb Township, Mich. Inside the card were pictures from his daughter’s second birthday party, which he missed since he was on patrol, readying MICHIGAN for her new mission. Merkel, by the way, is the ship’s “Sailor of the Year”.

"Keeping the world in check,beneath the seas, below deck,
For months on end, the Men of Michigan."

After nine hours of walking her steel decks and climbing her steel ladders, our group was pretty tired, but immensely impressed by the missiles, systems, size and capabilities of MICHIGAN. We were most impressed by the men of MICHIGAN, whose average age is twenty-one and a half.

The ship has since been certified for her new mission and is now forward deployed to Guam. MICHIGAN, as well as all SSBNs and SSGNs, have two crews -- Blue and Gold. Every three months, the relief crew will fly out to Guam and the other crew will return to Bangor Submarine Base to be reunited with their families, continue training and perhaps even take a week or two of their annual leave. If they’re lucky, some of the young fathers may even be home for the birth of a new baby or attend a daughter’s third birthday party.

”At Bangor Subase, wives and families wait,
Growing, coping and missing, their Men of Michigan.”

Before leaving for Hawaii, I learned from the off-duty Chief of the Boat, (COB is the most senior enlisted Master Chief Petty Officer,) that the ship’s crew’s mess was devoid of anything that spoke of “Michigan.” We quickly changed that. To get the ball rolling, Speaker of the House Andy Dillion arranged for two State of Michigan flags to be flown over the Capitol Building -- one for the mast and one to be framed for the crew’s mess. Navy League members donated other items and special plaques.

CAPT Dietrich Kuhlman, USN, Commanding Officer of MICHIGAN’s Blue Crew, told us that his crew’s morale is the highest in the submarine force. He credits that, in part, to what the citizens of Michigan have done over the years to support the crews of their namesake ship. During their off period, the skipper, the COB, a junior officer and a petty officer, are invited to visit Detroit and other cities, towns and villages for a few days. The cost associated with their visits is underwritten by Navy supporters. Two groups, the Metropolitan Detroit Chapter of the Navy League of the United States and the 727 Booster Club, chartered out of the Grosse Pointe War Memorial, provide most of the funding. It’s our way of thanking the men of MICHIGAN for their service.

“God Bless these special men,
whose dedication will never end,
We salute you,Our Men of Michigan.”

The next time you encounter a sailor, Marine, airman or soldier at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, take a minute to stop them and thank them for their service. While many of us sit in comfort of the Northwest Airlines World Club, our service men and women wait for their planes in the concourse. Unlike every other major U.S. airport, Metro has no USO facility. I’m not sure why. Perhaps before 9/11, the planners didn’t see a need for one. Let’s change that. I’ll even volunteer to head the fundraising campaign to get it done. If you’d like join me, send me a note. If you’d like to support the Men of Michigan, go to www.warmemorial.org for information on the 727 Booster Club and to www.navyleague.org for information on the Navy League.

“Peace and freedom have a price,
It's the dedication and sacrifice,
Of these Men of Michigan.”