USS Olympia (SSN-717)

• Namesake Legacy: USS Olympia (SSN-717) was named after the city of Olympia, Washington, continuing a tradition from the famous cruiser USS Olympia (C-6), Admiral Dewey’s flagship at the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898. • Los Angeles-class Submarine: Olympia was a Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, one of the most successful and numerous submarine classes in the U.S. Navy. • Commissioning: USS Olympia was commissioned on November 17, 1984, at the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut. • Builder: The submarine was built by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia. • Cold War Service: Olympia played a vital role in Cold War operations, including intelligence gathering, surveillance, and deterrence patrols throughout the Pacific and beyond. • Historic SINKEX: In 2009, Olympia made headlines by successfully launching a torpedo that sank the ex-USS Belleau Wood (LHA-3) during a SINKEX (Sink Exercise) off Hawaii. • North Pole Surfacing: In 2018, USS Olympia surfaced through the Arctic ice at the North Pole as part of Ice Exercise (ICEX), showcasing U.S. submarine capabilities in extreme environments. • Special Operations Support: Over its career, Olympia supported special operations forces, including SEAL teams, with covert insertion and extraction missions. • Decommissioning: USS Olympia was decommissioned on November 5, 2021, after nearly 37 years of service, making her one of the longest-serving submarines of her class. • Final Home Port: Olympia’s final homeport was Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton in Washington State, tying her operational history back to her namesake city in the Pacific Northwest.