Travel Tips

The USS Bremerton in 1982

Back in 1982, I received one of the first top secret security clearances to go on patrol on an attack nuclear submarine on a classified mission. The submarine–the USS Bremerton–was the newest in the Navy. And traveling–most of the time submerged–with me was the ace, award-winning photographer David Burnett. We were sworn to secrecy not to tell anyone where we were going or what our mission was or how long we were submerged. A few days ago, David sent me the news that the Bremerton–which had then become the oldest active submarine in the fleet–made its last active mission two months ago. It returned to Pearl Harbor on its final deployment and will soon be deactivated. So now, here are some pictures from that still classified mission: yours truly inside a torpedo launcher and one of the rare moments we were on the surface and standing on the conning tower. It was a remarkable experience, and one day, with the proper clearances, I will write about what we did and where we went, as well as what happened when we returned…great memories from 36 years ago. 

 

 

 
By Peter Greenberg for PeterGreenberg.com