sa国际传媒官网网页入口

Home port for USS Desert Ship (LLS-1) is New Mexico鈥檚 White Sands Missile Range.

Yeah, that鈥檚 right. It鈥檚 awash in sand.

The ship鈥檚 LLS-1 designation stands for Land-Locked Ship-1.

鈥淲ell, it鈥檚 not actually a ship,鈥� said Greg Trapp, historian for the New Mexico Council of the Navy League of the United States, a nonprofit, civilian educational and advocacy organization.

Trapp said Desert Ship, constructed in the 1950s, is a concrete-block test platform with the characteristics of a naval warship.

Before new missiles or gunnery systems are put on Navy ships, they are tested on Desert Ship, operated by the Naval Surface Warfare Center at White Sands. The Navy has been at White Sands since 1946.

鈥淣ew Mexico is very much entwined with the Navy,鈥� Trapp said. 鈥淧eople don鈥檛 realize that because we are a landlocked state. But we are a maritime nation.鈥�

The Navy鈥檚 presence will be more pronounced than usual in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 this week, which is Navy Week in the city. More than 50 sailors from across the country will be here Monday through Sunday to take part in education and outreach programs.

Adm. Stuart Munsch, who was commander of the submarine USS sa国际传媒官网网页入口 (SSN 706) from 2002 to 2005, is serving as senior executive for Navy Week in sa国际传媒官网网页入口. During a recent Zoom interview from his duty post in Naples, Italy, Munsch said he has visited the city about six times.

鈥淥ne of the really rewarding experiences in commanding the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 was the relationship with the namesake city,鈥� he said. 鈥淭erri Cole, who is still CEO of the (Greater sa国际传媒官网网页入口) Chamber of Commerce, brought together the business community, the government and education communities, different cultural organizations and even the Isotopes baseball team, all to support the submarine and the crew.鈥�

The hardest things

Navy Week, initiated in 2005, is the Navy鈥檚 main effort to tell its story in areas not generally associated with seagoing services, places not near the ocean.

Munsch, who grew up in North Dakota, can appreciate that.

鈥淣orth Dakota is the geographic center of North America, so you can鈥檛 be in North America and have grown up farther from an ocean than I did,鈥� he said.

鈥淭he purpose of these Navy Weeks in the interior cities in the country, such as sa国际传媒官网网页入口, is for folks to learn what we do to defend and deter against aggression that might happen against the U.S. and how we maintain peace and prosperity for America.

鈥淎nd it鈥檚 also an opportunity for young people to learn about the challenges and opportunities that we can give them to help develop themselves.鈥�

Navy Weeks were not around when Munsch was a youngster, but he could almost be a poster boy for the kind of success the Navy can offer those willing to work hard.

Oakes, North Dakota, where Munsch attended junior high and high school, is a town of about 1,700. But he went from that small place to the U.S. Naval Academy.

鈥淚 was into doing the hardest things you can do,鈥� Munsch said. 鈥淎nd I thought going to a service academy would be harder than going to a regular university. I did research and the Naval Academy was always ranked higher in U.S. News and World Report than the others.鈥�

He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1985 with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering.

Then he was selected for a Rhodes Scholarship and attended England鈥檚 Oxford University, where he earned a bachelor of arts and a masters of arts in philosophy, politics and economics.

鈥淥xford opened up my perspective a great deal by giving me the time to study widely and get exposed to things you might not get exposed to in a small town in North Dakota,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t taught me how to reason for myself and argue effectively.鈥�

Now, he is Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Europe/Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Africa/Commander, Allied Joint Force Command, Naples.

What we do

Navy Weeks take place in up to 15 cities a year. The program last visited sa国际传媒官网网页入口 two years ago.

In sa国际传媒官网网页入口 this week, sailors will engage with high school students, participate in community efforts at Roadrunner Foodbank and Habitat for Humanity, make themselves available for discussion of the Navy鈥檚 mission during visits to the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, the New Mexico State Fair and downtown sa国际传媒官网网页入口.

Navy Band Southwest will offer free musical performances at various venues throughout the week.

鈥淪omething I learned when I was commanding the USS sa国际传媒官网网页入口 is how important it is for the sailors to have an opportunity to interact with the general public,鈥� Munsch said. 鈥淭hat acts as a strong reminder about why we do what we do 鈥� because they鈥檒l get asked those questions. Usually, there鈥檒l be some very positive feedback from folks, and that becomes a motivator for the work that we do. And that improves the performance of the command.鈥�

A high point of Navy Week in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 this year is a presentation outlining plans for a monument honoring the submarine USS sa国际传媒官网网页入口 and its crews during more than 30 years of service. Mayor Tim Keller and Munsch will be among the speakers at the program, scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Monday at Pascetti Steel Design, 2114 Claremont NE.

Between the time it entered into active Navy service in May 1983 and it was decommissioned in February 2017, the USS sa国际传媒官网网页入口, an attack submarine nearly 362 feet in length, chalked up 500,000 nautical miles during 19 deployments.

It was dismantled at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, but the City of sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 Office of Military and Veteran Affairs, the Parks and Recreation Department and the New Mexico Council of NLUS joined forces to save the submarine鈥檚 sail (tower mounted on a sub鈥檚 topside) for use as a monument.

Various pieces of the sail were delivered to Kirtland Air Force Base in February 2023 and stored there until they were moved to Pascetti Steel Design.

When put back together, the sail will weigh 52 tons and stand 19 feet tall.

Awesome boat

Lawrence Edwards, a 1980 Cibola High graduate who served on the USS sa国际传媒官网网页入口, is chairman of New Mexico Council of NLUS鈥� USS sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Sail Committee.

鈥淚鈥檓 so glad the city took this (the USS sa国际传媒官网网页入口 monument) on and I can cheerlead for it,鈥� Edwards said. 鈥淚 was actually at the Puget Sound Shipyard when the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 came in for decommissioning. It was pretty sad. I had put a lot of work into her overhaul (in 2001-2003).鈥�

Edwards joined the Navy in 1982 as a member of the enlisted ranks but rose to the rank of chief petty officer in 1994 and was commissioned an officer in 1998.

He was with the USS sa国际传媒官网网页入口 during its refueling overhaul 2001 to 2003 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. Munsch took command of the sub in the midst of that overhaul.

鈥淚 would brief Adm. Munsch every morning on what was coming up and on what we had accomplished the night before,鈥� Edwards said. 鈥淲e completed the refueling overhaul in 22.3 months and came in $16 million under budget.鈥� The USS sa国际传媒官网网页入口 was commended for its historically swift and cost effective overhaul operation.

鈥淪he was an awesome boat,鈥� Edwards said of the sa国际传媒官网网页入口. 鈥淎nd she had an awesome crew.鈥�

After retiring from the Navy in 2008, Edwards worked 11 years for the Puget Sound Shipyard, which is why he was there when the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 arrived for decommissioning.

More recently he has been living and substitute teaching in Edgewood, when he鈥檚 not pulling his Airstream trailer to national parks throughout the country.

But he鈥檚 in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 for Navy week and eager to attend as many events as he can, especially Monday鈥檚 program about the USS sa国际传媒官网网页入口 monument.

鈥淚 think Navy Week really highlights New Mexico鈥檚 commitment to the Navy,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I think the (USS sa国际传媒官网网页入口) memorial is like the cherry on top, showing the city鈥檚 concern for the submarine and its crew.

鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to be back home and see that support.鈥�