Nuclear attack submarine visits Saipan anew

One of the most capable nuclear attack submarines in the world is now on Saipan for a five-day courtesy visit and recreation.

USS Cheyenne (SNN 773), which homeports at Pearl Harbor and has over 142 crewmen, docked on the island on the morning of Easter Sunday. The submarine was supposed to arrive Saturday night. It arrived at 10am.

Military and Veterans Affairs executive officer Ruth Coleman led the welcoming committee. She was joined by Saipan Chamber of Commerce executive director Christine Parke, Superior Court associate judge David Wiseman, community development officer Ed Diaz, retired military man and AMPRO owner John Scott, Governor’s activities coordinator Peding Sablan, Commonwealth Ports Authority seaport manager Lee Cabrera, weapons officer Lt. David Schmidt, and Department of Public Safety police officers.

Coleman briefed USS Cheyenne commander Richard J. Testyon Jr. and his men at 11am about the island and what they could expect from it. The Marianas Visitors Authority led the orientation for the visiting Navy men. The Te Kanahau Nui Dance Troupe led by adviser Celia Mercado wowed the visitors with a series of cultural dances.

The Veterans Affairs Office and the MVA also hosted a courtesy luncheon for the troops yesterday at the Aqua Resort Club.

MVA board chair David Sablan led the brief program on behalf of the governor and lieutenant governor who could not attend due to an emergency meeting.

Sablan handed out a plaque of appreciation to USS Cheyenne as a token of the island’s gratitude for the visit. Testyon accepted the plaque and, in turn, presented a plaque to Sablan with the USS Cheyenne seal on it.

DPS deputy commissioner Bertha Tudela, Department of Community and Cultural Affairs deputy secretary Carmen Cabrera, CPA deputy executive manager Reno Celis, MVA board member Yoichi Matsumura, VFW Post 3457 Commander John Davis Jr., press secretary Pete Callaghan, Military Affairs special assistant Ed Camacho, MVA deputy managing director Martin Duenas, and community development officer Frank Tudela also attended the luncheon.

Testyon said this was his first visit Saipan but about half of his men have already been on the island. Saipan is the last stop of the submarine on its six-month journey at sea.

“So far everybody is having a wonderful time,” he said.

Although they want to stay longer, he said they would have to leave the island on Thursday. He said their families are also waiting for them, so they could not wait to get home.

The USS Cheyenne has been to Guam, Japan, Singapore and other places in the western Pacific.