[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 130 (Friday, August 1, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S8021]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CROSSING OF THE NORTH POLE BY THE USS 
                              ``NAUTILUS''

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today, joined by my colleagues 
Senators Lieberman, Reed, and Whitehouse, to mark the 50th anniversary 
of a momentous occasion in our Nation's maritime history, an occasion 
that truly launched the American Navy into the Nuclear Age. On August 
3, 1958, the USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear powered submarine, 
became the first vessel to travel under the North Pole. The intrepid 
crewmen of the Nautilus received a Presidential Unit Citation for their 
service, and Operation Sunshine, as it was called, provided a powerful 
boost to American morale following the Soviet launch of Sputnik. Today, 
we mark this important milestone with a resolution honoring the 
Nautilus's historic feat.
  The USS Nautilus's Arctic voyage was a remarkable feat of American 
naval engineering, demonstrating the evolution of submarines from slow 
underwater ships to warships that could submerge for many weeks and 
travel through varied depths and conditions, maintaining travel speeds 
of 20-25 knots. Submarines, as was proven that day, would pursue 
unconventional courses to achieve incredible results, in this case, 
traveling a much shorter distance than was thought possible, to reach 
strategically important destinations on the other side of the globe.
  But most important, it marked a major milestone for our nuclear Navy, 
which would lead to other developments, such as submarines powered by 
single pressurized water reactors, and an aircraft carrier, USS 
Enterprise, powered by eight reactor units in 1960.
  While the Nautilus's successful voyage was an inspiration to all 
America, it serves a particularly important point of pride to our 
submariners, as well as the engineers and shipbuilders of the Electric 
Boat Division of General Dynamics, who have built our Nation's nuclear 
submarines in Connecticut for more than four decades. As a young boy, I 
attended the launch of the USS Nautilus in Groton, CT; and had the 
honor to witness my late mother christening the USS Stimson. My first 
cousin, Bill McAree, was one of the chosen few to serve in the nuclear 
submarine force under Admiral Rickover, and for 34 years, I have had 
the distinct pleasure of representing the home State of our Nation's 
premier undersea warfare facilities, including Naval Submarine Base New 
London.
  As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of this important voyage, we 
must also look forward to the future of American naval power. As 
nations around the world continue to enlarge their own submarine 
fleets, the U.S. ability to travel freely and swiftly beneath the waves 
represents a critically important component of U.S. seapower. Today, 
our submarine fleet is contributing invaluable surveillance and 
reconnaissance to our warfighters, and providing an important platform 
for operations in what the Navy calls ``the littorals,'' or coastal 
areas. Our military has no more stealthy means for delivering power 
than the submarine, carrying Navy SEAL teams to enemy territory 
undetected, or traveling to specific locations to launch cruise 
missiles. Submarines are not merely weapons of war, they are tools of 
statecraft, providing critical intelligence to policymakers and serving 
as a critical deterrent to promote stability throughout the globe. And 
it is submarines' demonstrated ability to traverse the world 
undetected, at any point in the ocean, even the North Pole, that makes 
the work of our silent service, our submariners, so critically 
important to our national security.
  As we look back on the first 50 years of America's nuclear submarine 
program, the United States must be ready to continue the great legacy 
of the USS Nautilus, its crewmen, shipwrights, and designers, and 
remain in the forefront of submarine development.

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