[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 139 (Wednesday, October 7, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S11804]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  COMMENDING THE WORK OF THE NATIONAL COMMEMORATIVE COMMITTEE FOR THE 
                   CENTENNIAL OF THE SUBMARINE FORCE

 Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
U.S. Navy Submarine Force as it approaches its 100 year anniversary and 
to commend to the work of the National Commemorative Committee for the 
Centennial of the Submarine Force.
  The submarine force traces its beginnings to the spring morning of 
April 11, 1900. Following demonstration trials off Mount Vernon on the 
Potomac River, the Navy agreed to purchase the submarine boat USS 
Holland (SS-1). The USS Holland was named for its inventor John 
Holland. Inventors such as John Holland and Simon Lake had been 
experimenting in submarine design during the last decades of the 
nineteenth century. However, Mr. Holland was the first to give the 
submarine true mobility by using a gasoline engine on the surface and a 
battery supplying electric motors when submerged. It was due to the 
success of the USS Holland that the Navy pursued the submarine program. 
For this reason, the Submarine Force traditionally recognized April 
11th as the anniversary of its establishment.
  Dramatic improvements to the submarine have been made since the USS 
Holland. The diesel engine replaced the gasoline engine in 1912. All 
welded hulls, allowing submarines to submerge to much greater depths, 
were introduced in the 1930s. Radar and sonar were incorporated during 
World War II. It is with the introduction of nuclear power, however, 
that the submarine became a true submersible--limited in endurance only 
by the needs of its human crew.
  Earlier this year the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program celebrated its 
50th anniversary. It was in 1948 that the legendary Admiral Hyman 
Rickover, then a Captain, assigned himself the task of building a 
nuclear submarine. At that time, the technology that enabled the 
release of nuclear power was in its infancy. Just seven years later, 
the USS Nautilus put to sea under nuclear power. Today the Navy's 
nuclear submarine force is a crown jewel of our Nation's Defense 
arsenal.
  In the year 2000, the Navy's Submarine Force will celebrate its 100th 
anniversary. The Secretary of the Navy has designated the period from 
January 2000 through December 2000 for the commemoration of the 
Centennial of the U.S. Submarine Force. The Director of Submarine 
Warfare, Rear Admiral Malcolm Fages, and the Submarine Warfare Division 
have the responsibility for overall coordination of commemorative 
activities with assistance of the National Commemorative Committee for 
the Centennial of the Submarine Force.
  Mr. President, it is the work of the National Commemorative Committee 
and its chairman, Admiral Hank Chiles, that I wish to recognize today. 
Plans are already underway to observe the anniversary at appropriate 
occasions throughout the calendar year 2000. The National Commemorative 
Committee is planning events and ceremonies that will provide the 
opportunity for people to observe and experience the special world of 
the U.S. Navy Submarine Force and to become more acquainted with its 
rich and colorful history. Proposed events for 2000 include the opening 
of a Smithsonian exhibit, a birthday ball and the unveiling of a 
submarine stamp in Washington, DC, and participation in fleet week 
celebrations throughout the year.
  I commend the dedicated effort of the National Commemorative 
Committee for the Centennial of the Submarine Force and urge my 
colleagues to support the Committee as they continue their work 
planning the centennial events.

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