Old But Kicking: The USS Jimmy Carter Submarine Keeps on Sailing

The presidency of James Earl “Jimmy” Carter Jr., from January 20, 1977, to January 20, 1981, was not a particularly happy or prestigious period in the history of the United States of America. In terms of domestic affairs (stagflation, “malaise,” “misery index“) and foreign affairs (the Iran hostage crisis, especially the tragically abortive military rescue operation, Operation Eagle Claw AKA Desert One), Americans had a rough time.

However, in the spirit of being fair & balanced, then-President Carter did have his accomplishments too, particularly the Camp David Peace Accords of 1979. Moreover, he did serve honorably as a U.S. Navy officer, graduating with the U.S. Naval Academy class of 1947 (ranking sixtieth out of a class of 821 midshipmen), earning a commission as an ensign, and serving seven years of active duty and an additional seven years in the Naval Reserve as a submarine officer under the hard-charging, take-no-prisoners Admiral Hyman G. Rickover. So then, perhaps it is fitting that a U.S. Navy submarine bears Carter’s name. Say hello to the USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23).

USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) Early History and Specifications

USS Jimmy Carter is a nuclear-powered general-purpose attack submarine, hence the U.S. Navy hull classification of “SSN.” As noted by USCarriers:

“The Jimmy Carter (SSN 23) is the third and last Seawolf-class submarine and the first ship of the U.S. Navy named in honor of the 39th president of the United States who is the only submarine-qualified man that went on to become the nation’s chief executive. He was the nuclear engineer officer on the Pre-Commissioning Unit Seawolf (SSN 575) in the 1950s.”

Built by General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB), SSN-23 was ordered on June 29, 1996 (coincidentally just before the 1996 Summer Olympics commenced in Atlanta, a city in Carter’s home state of Georgia), laid down on December 5, 1998, launched on May 13, 2004, christened on June 5, 2004, and commissioned on February 19, 2005. The warship bears the following specifications and vital stats:

· Displacement: 12,139 tons fully laden

· Hull length: 138 m (452.8 ft) overall

· Beam Width: 12.1 m (39.7 ft)

· Draft: 10.9 m (35.8 ft)

· Propulsion: 1x S6W PWR 220 MW (300,000 hp), HEU 93.5%, 1x secondary propulsion submerged motor, 2x steam turbines 57,000 shp (43 MW), 1x shaft,1x pump-jet propeller

· Max Speed (submerged): greater than 25 knots (46 km/h; 28.7 mph)

· Test Depth: 490 m (1,600 ft)

· Crew Complement: 15 commissioned officers, 126 enlisted seamen

· Armament: 8× 26.5 inch torpedo tubes, sleeved for 21-inch weapons (up to 50 Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles/Harpoon anti-ship missiles/Mk 48 Advanced Capability (ADCAP) heavyweight guided torpedoes carried in torpedo room)

In addition, the Jimmy Carter was fitted with a special 100-foot-long, 2,500-ton module called the Multi-Mission Platform. The U.S. Navy acknowledged that the MMP space can accommodate undersea drones, SEALs, and much more.

Operational History

USS Jimmy Carter’s active-duty career got off to a rather inauspicious start: on October 14, 2005, the submarine was en route from Naval Submarine Base New London, Connecticut, to its new homeport at the Bangor Annex of Naval Base Kitsap, Washington, when it was forced to return to New London when an unusually high wave damaged the boat. Luckily, the damage was repaired quickly, and the big sub re-departed New London the following day, finally making port at Bangor the afternoon of November 9, 2005.

Soon enough, the former POTUS’s namesake would make history in a more positive fashion, albeit in a mission whose specifics are still shrouded in secrecy. My colleague Peter Suciu elaborates in a September 9, 2024 article for The National Interest:

“Yet, the submarine has been seen returning to port flying the ‘skull and crossbones,’ a tradition among submarine crews that its mission was conducted successfully. The boat has Battle Efficiency awards and a Presidential Unit Citation, suggesting it has conducted some important – and likely even dangerous – missions. This may have included tapping undersea fiber-optic communications and conducting intelligence-gathering missions.

We may not know what missions the boat was involved in, but it should be noted that the motto of the USS Jimmy Carter is ‘Semper Optima’ (‘Always the Best’) – and it certainly does seem to be very good at what it does.”

Where Are They Now?

“They” as in the vessel and its real-life, flesh & blood namesake, that is.

SSN-23 remains in active service, homeported at the Bangor Annex of Naval Base Kitsap in the State of Washington.

As for former President Carter himself, he’s still alive and recently celebrated his one-hundredth birthday. However, he’s in poor physical health; on February 18, 2023, the Carter Center (located in Atlanta) announced that following a “series of short hospital stays,” the former POTUS decided to “spend his remaining time at home with his family in Plain, George, to “receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention” for an unspecified terminal illness.

Godspeed, Mr. President.

About the Author:

Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ). He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch , The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS).

Image: DVIDS