USS North Dakota Changes Homeport: Attack Submarine Arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Nov. 13, Joining Submarine Squadron 1
The Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS North Dakota (SSN 784) arrived at its new home port of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on November 13, the U.S. Navy's Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet announced. North Dakota had completed an Extended Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, before joining Submarine Squadron 1 as its sixth Virginia-class fast-attack submarine.
"The crew of North Dakota is excited to call Pearl Harbor our new home," said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Christopher Marolt, the submarine's commanding officer. He said the sailors had put forth herculean efforts to get through the shortest availability in Portsmouth Naval Shipyard history while managing a homeport change, and were ready to integrate with Submarine Squadron 1 and reunite with their families. Capt. Christopher Hedrick, commodore of Submarine Squadron 1, said it was an honor to welcome North Dakota's sailors and families to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam as the newest addition to the waterfront, supporting the U.S. strategic advantage in the Pacific.
Following the submarine's arrival at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the crew earned the Retention Excellence award in 2024 and the Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic Battle Efficiency ("Battle E") award in 2024 and 2025, recognizing the crew's superior readiness, performance and efficiency. Marolt said saying farewell to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was bittersweet given the community's tremendous support during the maintenance and preparation period, and that bringing a battle-tested, back-to-back Battle E crew into the Pacific Fleet theater was an incredible honor.
North Dakota was commissioned on October 25, 2014, and is the second U.S. warship to carry the name, the first being the World War I-era battleship USS North Dakota (BB-29). The Pacific Submarine Force provides strategic deterrence, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, precision land strike, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, early warning, and special warfare capabilities around the globe.
(Source: Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet)
Source: Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国海军弗吉尼亚级攻击核潜艇「北达科他号」（SSN 784）2014年服役仪式上的舰桥横幅与舰体（资料图，非本次抵达画面）。美国海军官方照片，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons 自托管。 / Photo: The brow banner and hull of Virginia-class attack submarine USS North Dakota (SSN 784) at her 2014 commissioning ceremony (file photo, not the arrival). U.S. Navy photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, self-hosted.
