Preserving the Legacy of SSN-698 & CA-130
Join us in developing a monument to the submarine, cruiser, their namesake city and the shipyard that cared for them
We are pleased to announce that Karl Jensen, Commander, US Navy Supply Corps (Retired), has joined the BREMERTON Monument team. Karl served as the commissioning supply officer for submarine USS BREMERTON (SSN-698), beginning his distinguished naval service in 1980. Karl’s experience and dedication bring valuable insight and historical perspective to our efforts.
Upon completion of Officer Candidate School, Supply Corps School and the Submarine Officer Basic Course in June 1980, Karl reported to the BREMERTON SSN-698 pre-commissioning unit at Electric Boat Shipyard in Groton, CT, and served onboard through 1982. Major events during Karl’s tour onboard included offload and reload of all provisions and repair parts to repair defective welds in the forward compartment of the ship, hosting Admiral Rickover for Alpha sea trials, the ship’s first deployment to the North Arabian Sea with a port visit to Perth, Western Australia, and transit to her new home port in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. BREMERTON also made its first port visit to Bremerton, Washington, and participated in San Francisco Fleet Week 1982 during Karl’s service onboard.
GDMS Donation presentation: Capt Alan Beam , CDMC Cris Addington, Garnett Kelly and Capt Jerry Logan
At the November 12 2025 Bremerton Olympic Peninsula Luncheon General Dynamics Missions Systems Port Orchard Garnett Kelly and Cris Addington donated $1300 to the USS Bremerton Monument. Receiving the donation was captain Alan Beam Commanding officer #3 and Captain Jerry Logan Commanding Officer #10 Chairman of the USS Bremerton Monument.
Submarine Reactor Compartment being prepared for shipment at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
Second and final nuclear reactor of the year packaged up and ready to be moved to Hanford!
Two submarines pass through the United States Navy Ship-Submarine Recycling Program each year. The Reactor Compartment Disposal process consists of defueling and removing the nuclear core, which is moved separately by rail to the Expended Core Facility at the Idaho National Laboratory. But because the reactor compartment (RC) itself is made mostly of lead shielding that underwent decades of neutron bombardment, the RC is treated as low-level hazardous waste and as such it cannot be recycled.
Barge board RC Compartment Awaiting transport pier side at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Instead, the entire RC is sliced out of the submarine, and the ends are capped. This uses the sub pressure hill itself to create a sealed container.
RC compartment barge departing PSNS in Rich Passage
The “package” is then put on a barge and moved about 700 miles from the naval yard near Seattle out to the Pacific, down to Oregon, then up the Columbia River to the Hanford Nuclear Site.
The sealed “package” is 34′ tall by 45′ long and weighs 1,680 tons. Lead shielding and minor radioactivity from decades of neutron bombardment classify the contents as low-level hazardous waste. Cobalt 60, which has a half-life of 6 years, is the dominant radioactive nuclide.
The package is then loaded onto a self-propelled modular transporter and dragged another 25 miles with giant “land tugs” into the Hanford Site, where it is placed in a huge pit known as Trench 94 with about 130+ other former reactor compartments. The pit is left open so satellites can see into it for treaty purposes, but the pit will eventually be filled with clay and cement.
Sea Story – In October 1986 I had the opportunity to bring USS Bremerton to Bremerton. Homeported in Pearl Harbor, I wrote the Bremerton Yacht Club and volunteered to be their Flagship. We rendezvoused with the Navy tug off Point no Point to Load VIPs for the trip into Puget Sound Navy Shipyard (PSNS). It was a typical October Day in Puget Sound, the fog was so thick I couldn’t see my Starboard sailplane. When we rounded Glover Point on entrance into Sinclair Inlet the sky’s opened up and it was a bright, beautiful sunny day. We were met with a flotilla of about 90 Yacht Club boats. It is the only time I’ve seen a Washington State Ferry stop. They came out of the fog behind us and fell into the procession. With 2 tugboats spraying water in front we proceeded into port. The crew was not happy with me, I mandated everyone go on liberty in Service Dress Blues. Their attitude quickly changed when they discovered they couldn’t by a meal or a drink anywhere in the county! It was truly a special time! – Alan Beam CO #3
The person standing behind me in the gray jacket is Mayor Glenn Jarstad. To his right is my brother Glen.
Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle congratulates the 17th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) John Perryman during the MCPON change of office ceremony at the United States Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., Sept. 8, 2025. US Navy photo
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Perryman took the helm as the Navy’s top enlisted sailor Monday during a change of command ceremony held in Washington, D.C. Perryman assumed the role less than one month after the Navy announced his selectionto be the 17th master chief petty officer of the Navy. As the top enlisted sailor, Perryman is responsible for advising Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle and advocating for the needs of the sea service’s enlisted force.
“Our Navy must be manned by world-class sailors led by the best warfighters at every level,” Perryman said. “You have my word — I will always fight for you and for the families who stand beside you.”
Perryman outlined his priorities in a video on Monday following the ceremony, demonstrating he is in lockstep with Caudle.
There is no one better suited to take over the helm as our Navy’s senior enlisted advisor than you,” Caudle said to Perryman during the ceremony. “Your priorities of sailors and families first, technical mastery at every level, and continuous development and talent management and my priorities of Foundry, Fleet, and Fight are mutually reinforcing, collectively exhaustive, and relentlessly enduring.”
Perryman follows MCPON James Honea, who has served in the role since Sept. 8, 2022. Honea will retire Friday after 38 years in the Navy.
Perryman enlisted in the service in 1994 and began his career as an electronics technician submariner with tours on USS Bremerton (SSN-698), USS Dolphin (AGSS-555) and USS Cheyenne(SSN-773). He also served as the command master chief on USS Hawaii (SSN-776), according to the Navy.
He previously served as the senior enlisted sailor of Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet, Submarine Group Seven, in Submarine Force Atlantic and U.S. Strategic Command. Additionally, Perryman served as the senior enlisted advisor to Caudle while the pair led U.S. Fleet Forces Command.
The recycling program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Washington, is extensive, but the focus is not on plastic bottles, aluminum cans and cardboard boxes. Instead, employees work to dismantle and dispose of decommissioned nuclear vessels. “This is the graveyard, basically, of the nuclear Navy,” said Jack Tappe, the shipyard’s project superintendent and a retired Navy commander who served for 32 years. While the program is essentially a massive demolition project, it directly contributes to the readiness of the force. Putting American tax dollars toward the recycling program ensures the safe and efficient disposal of nuclear vessels when they reach the end of their service life.
Bremerton (SSN-698) departs its homeport of San Diego on 14 March 2003 for a Western Pacific Deployment. Commanded by Cmdr. Jerry Logan, the Los Angeles class attack submarine has a crew of more than 130 men and will be conducting operations throughout the Western Pacific.
The fast-attack submarine Bremerton (SSN-698) departs Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for the final time, 20 April 2018. Bremerton is en route to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wash., to commence its inactivation process and decommissioning after 37 years of service.
