[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 110 (Monday, July 23, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5252-S5253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO COMMANDER JEFFREY SMITH

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, today I rise in recognition of U.S. 
Navy CDR Jeffrey Smith, captain of the USS Kentucky. Commander Smith, a 
Kentucky native, is the youngest commanding officer of an Ohio-class 
submarine. The commander has accomplished great feats in his naval 
career and he proudly represents the State of Kentucky with everything 
he does. I know he is especially honored to command the ship that bears 
the name of our beloved Commonwealth.
  Commander Smith was born in Covington, KY, and moved to Independence, 
KY, shortly thereafter. Upon graduating from Simon Kenton High School, 
he attended Xavier University and then transferred to the University of 
Kentucky. In 1995, Commander Smith graduated with a degree in physics 
and was commissioned in the Navy, where he began nuclear power training 
in Florida.
  His dedicated service to the U.S. Navy brought him to the post of 
commanding officer of an Ohio-class submarine. The youngest man in his 
position, Commander Smith leads both the Gold and Blue Teams and is 
charged with overseeing the drills, maintenance, and day to day 
operations of the USS Kentucky.
  Respected as a leader by his crew, Commander Smith also makes time to 
share his love of his State, the namesake of the submarine, with his 
men. After each announcement, it has become his trademark to lead the 
men in a round of ``Go Big Blue'' cheers. A true Kentucky Wildcats fan, 
he loves to talk University of Kentucky basketball and ``bracketology'' 
with his men come NCAA Tournament time. By sharing some of these 
beloved hallmarks of the Bluegrass State, Commander Smith not only 
shows his own pride in being a Kentuckian, but also provides his men a 
sense of attachment to the place for which their ship was named.
  Commander Smith, besides being an avid UK Wildcats fan, enjoys 
reading, playing video games, and spending time with his four children. 
He credits his interests and leadership capabilities to his education 
from the University of Kentucky. From physics and engineering courses 
which enable him to effectively operate the ship, to psychology courses 
which allow him to understand his men and their attitudes in different 
situations, a diverse educational and experiential background allows 
Commander Smith to lead his men effectively.
  It is my privilege today to recognize a Kentuckian who has truly 
devoted his life to the service of this Nation. A rising star in the 
U.S. Navy, CDR Jeffrey Smith has committed himself to excellence and to 
proudly representing the State of Kentucky. I ask my colleagues in the 
U.S. Senate to join me in saluting U.S. Navy CDR Jeffrey Smith.
  A recent publication by the University of Kentucky newspaper the 
Kentucky Kernel highlighted the accomplishments of the Commander. Mr. 
President, I ask unanimous consent that said article appear in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

      [From University of Kentucky, Kentucky Kernel, July 3, 2012]

              USS Kentucky's Commander Is a Proud UK Alum

                           (By Sarah Geegan)

       There's just no telling where an education from the 
     University of Kentucky can take you.
       For U.S. Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Smith, the journey that began 
     at UK has taken him around the world and deep below the 
     ocean's surface, as captain of the USS Kentucky, a nuclear 
     submarine.
       ``Having been born in Kentucky and growing up there, I 
     can't imagine any pride greater than serving as commander of 
     the ship that bears my home state's name,'' says Smith, whose 
     parents and sister still live in Kentucky.
       Born in Covington and raised in Independence, Smith 
     graduated from Simon Kenton High School and attended Xavier 
     University for a year before transferring to UK. After 
     graduating in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in physics, Smith 
     was commissioned in the Navy and went to officer candidate 
     school in Pensacola, Fla., where he began nuclear power 
     training.
       At 39, Smith is the youngest commanding officer of an Ohio-
     class submarine. The Kentucky--560 feet long and 42 feet in 
     diameter, and producing around 18,000 tons of displacement--
     is about the size of the largest ships that worked during 
     World War II. It has a crew complement of 160, and it is 
     capable of sinking more than 800 feet and traveling faster 
     than 25 knots. (``That's pretty much freeway speed for a 
     submarine,'' Smith says.) The Kentucky's primary mission, as 
     a strategic nuclear deterrent, is to provide a credible, 
     survivable launch platform for ballistic missiles from sea.
       The ship is really a world of its own, Smith says, and it's 
     a complex world with tens of thousands of moving parts. For 
     the commander of the Kentucky, a day's work involves taking 
     care of the ship and making sure its crew members are 
     prepared for any situation they could face while at sea.
       ``Life aboard a nuclear submarine is all about mitigating 
     risk, while still making sure that you are able to perform 
     your mission,'' Smith says. ``A submarine at sea is really a 
     dangerous environment. Everywhere within reach, there are 
     cables carrying high-voltage electricity. There are pipes 
     containing rapidly moving sea water. There are

[[Page S5253]]

     high-pressure hydraulics lines. And we live constantly within 
     just a few feet of the most unforgiving, deadly, crushing 
     environment, right on the other side of our hull--the deep 
     sea. It's of paramount importance that we keep it on the 
     other side of that hull.''
       A naval submarine will operate at sea for about 50 to 100 
     days before coming back to port for a couple of months, 
     during which time it undergoes a regimen of critical 
     maintenance and a crew rotation. The Kentucky has two crews, 
     a Blue Team and a Gold Team. Smith commands both.
       While the Kentucky is under way, the daily routine is one 
     of training, planning and maintenance. Breakfast begins at 
     05:00 (5 a.m.) and is over by 06:30, at which time the crew 
     receives briefings before commencing drills at 08:00. Drills 
     consist of simulations of various different situations that 
     could be encountered aboard the ship, such as fires, 
     floodings, and casualties.
       On some days, the crew performs strategic exercises, in 
     which the crew practices the tasks they could be asked to 
     perform while on a mission--everything from processing 
     messages to walking through a strategic launch. This part of 
     the day is usually done by 15:00 (3 p.m.), followed by a few 
     hours of planning, training, and debriefing before dinner at 
     17:00 hours. There's usually a movie for the crew around 
     20:00, and then it's lights out.
       Running parallel to that daily routine, the ship maintains 
     a regular watch schedule, in which at any given time, one-
     third of the crew is manning a watch station on their part of 
     the ship. The watch shifts run for six hours in an 18-hour 
     rotation.
       In port, the routine centers around maintenance, with 
     anywhere from 50 to 150 separate scheduled maintenance items 
     every time the ship comes in.
       ``The scheduled maintenance on a car is a good 
     comparison,'' Smith says. ``Think of all of the things that 
     you have to check on your car every 5,000 miles. Well, a 
     submarine is a lot bigger and a lot more complex than a car. 
     And a typical car owner might keep their car for five or six 
     years, while a submarine has to last for 40. So we have to 
     ensure that the ship is in good shape for another whole 
     generation of submariners.''
       Smith says he works conscientiously to instill a sense of 
     Kentucky pride in his crew. One of the first things he did 
     after taking command was to implement ``Go Big Blue!'' as the 
     ship's rallying cry. He ends every shipboard announcement 
     over the loudspeaker with that call, and the crew echoes it 
     back.
       ``I think you'll find it's true, on any of the ships named 
     after a state, that the commanders will try to get the whole 
     state-pride thing going among the crew,'' Smith says. ``I 
     have just a little extra fire in my belly, being a native of 
     Kentucky and a graduate of UK. My crew definitely knows that 
     we're representing a great state.''
       Smith says the education he received at UK has helped to 
     prepare him for his role in the Navy in ways he couldn't even 
     have imagined when he was a student some 20 years ago.
       ``The experience that I had in college--not just in 
     physics, but the whole multidisciplinary aspect of what 
     college is--has served me very well throughout my career,'' 
     he says. ``I use the physics every day, and the engineering 
     and math. But there's also philosophy--particularly the 
     connection between philosophy and anthropology: How do we 
     live in a multinational society? There's psychology, which 
     helps me to be able to interpret the reactions of my crew in 
     an objectively harsh environment. I use business management 
     and financial accounting. Even the Russian I studied has 
     served me well. There was not a single class that I took at 
     UK that I have not gone back and leveraged in my career at 
     some point.''
       A lifelong Wildcat fan, Smith says he was thrilled to see 
     the Cats bring home their eighth NCAA Championship this year. 
     He offers his own, admittedly biased, take on bracketology:
       ``I tell my fellow officers that when you pick your bracket 
     for the NCAA tournament, you need to realize that there is a 
     Center of Awesomeness in the Universe, which is Rupp Arena, 
     and the farther any team is based from there, the less of a 
     chance they are going to have of making it to the Final 
     Four.''
       Smith is also father to four children. In his spare time, 
     he enjoys reading broadly on diverse topics, including 
     philosophy, poetry, and music. He is an avid video gamer, who 
     welcomes challenges from his crew in just about any game 
     imaginable.
       ``I try to remain as interdisciplinary as possible,'' he 
     says.

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