USS Georgia SSGN 729 & the Georgia State Flag
Recently the Heart of Georgia Altamaha Regional Commission was asked to assist Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue and the U.S. Navy League with the scheduling and transporting of a Georgia State Flag to the seventeen counties in the Heart of Georgia Altamaha Area. This project will eventually bring the same Georgia Flag to all 159 Georgia counties.
Alan Mazza, Executive Director of the RC, along with RC staff member Alex Clements also of the RC facilitated this project.
On March 28, 2008 Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue will present the Georgia State Flag to the Captain of the USS Georgia SSGN 729, a nuclear submarine that will be home ported at the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in Kings Bay, Georgia. The captain of the USS Georgia is Brian McIlvane, a 1984 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy.
The USS Georgia SSGN 729 is the last of four Ohio class submarines to be converted in the last two years from a ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) to a guided missile submarine (SSGN).
Some facts about the USS Georgia SSGN 729 are that it is 560 feet long, four stories tall, with a 42 foot beam, a surface draft of 36 feet and a submerged weight of 18,700 tons. Due to the fact that it is nuclear powered, it only has to return to port for food supplies for the crew which is around every seven months.
Submarines are called boats by the officers and crew and not ships.
The USS Georgia SSGN 729 will have a crew of 139, with 15 officers and as many as 66 special operations forces (Navy Seals). It can carry 154 tomahawk cruise missiles and the 22 missile tubes can also launch unmanned underwater vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles and also launch special forces equipment all while it is submerged.
The Heart of Georgia Altamaha Regional Commission was proud to assist the Governor, the Navy League, and the U.S. Navy with this project.