NORFOLK (NNS) — Vice Adm. Michael J. Connor, Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic (COMSUBLANT), has announced the winners of the 2014 Battle Efficiency (Battle "E") competition.
"Congratulations and Bravo Zulu to all of the award winners," said Connor. "The 2014 Battle "E" competition was extremely keen, as all nominated units demonstrated the submarine force's readiness in performing their wartime responsibilities. Being the recipient of the Battle E should be a source of great pride to each submarine crew member. Each and every Sailor can be justifiably proud of their contribution to improving the battle readiness of the Atlantic Submarine Force."
The Battle E competition is conducted to strengthen individual command performance, improve overall force readiness, and to recognize outstanding performance. The award symbolizes the overall readiness of the command to carry out its assigned wartime tasks as a unit of the Atlantic Submarine Force.
Based on a year-long competition, one submarine from each submarine squadron in the Atlantic Fleet is recognized. The awards are presented by the commodore of each squadron to the submarine under their command which has demonstrated the highest level of battle readiness during the evaluation year.
The 2014 COMSUBLANT Battle "E" winners, their homeports, and commanding officers are:
- Commander, Submarine Squadron (SUBRON) FOUR (Groton, Connecticut) — The Virginia-class attack submarine USS Virginia (SSN 774), commanded by Cmdr. Steven Antcliff.
- SUBRON SIX (Norfolk) — The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Boise (SSN 764), commanded by Cmdr. Scott Luers.
- Commander, Submarine Development Squadron TWELVE (Groton, Connecticut) — The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Annapolis (SSN 760), commanded by Cmdr. Chester Parks.
- SUBRON SIXTEEN (Kings Bay, Georgia) — The Ohio-class guided-missile submarine USS Georgia (SSGN 729), whose Blue Crew was commanded by Capt. William Breitfelder and Gold Crew was commanded during the competition by Capt. Rhett Jaehn and Capt. Michael Badorf.
- SUBRON TWENTY (Kings Bay, Georgia) — The Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Alaska (SSBN 732), whose Blue Crew was commanded by Cmdr. Todd Figanbaum and Gold Crew was commanded during the competition by Cmdr. Robert Wirth and Cmdr. Craig Gummer.
For more information on the submarine force visit the Submarine Force web site at
www.public.navy.mil/subfor/hq/Pages/default.aspx.
For more news from Commander, Submarine Force, Atlantic, visit www.navy.mil/local/sublant/.