St. Marys throws farewell bash for departing submarine crews

ST. MARYS - Camden County residents welcomed the first crew from the USS Pennsylvania in 1989 with open arms and a big Southern cookout. <br> <br> Now, as three of the base&#39;s submarines are preparing to transfer to new locations, the people of St. Marys are saying good-bye the same way they said hello with another big cookout. <br> <br> Businesses in Camden County prepared enough food Friday to feed 1,000 sailors from the USS Pennsylvania and their families. <br> <br> ``We brought them in feeding them, and we will send them away feeding them,&#39;&#39; said Carla Carper, executive director of the Camden/Kings Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. ``It gives us the opportunity to thank them for being good stewards in the community and good neighbors.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> This summer, two of the 10 Trident nuclear submarines stationed at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base will be reassigned to the West Coast, taking 636 sailors, a $27 million payroll and an estimated 1,400 family members with them. <br> <br> The USS Kentucky and USS Pennsylvania leave Kings Bay for their new home base at Bangor, Wash., sometime in May and July. The exact dates of departure have not been made public due to safety concerns, base officials said. <br> <br> County residents, naval personnel and their families spent Friday afternoon feasting on barbecue, hamburger, beans and chips, said Lt. Doug Gabos, a spokesman for the naval base. <br> <br> ``The marvel of the event was the cake, which was huge and decorated with the Pennsylvania insignia,&#39;&#39; he said. ``People looked like they were having a really good time.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Kings Bay has been the backbone of Camden County&#39;s economy since the 1980s, when it became the East Coast base for the Navy&#39;s Trident submarines. The base has an annual payroll of $298 million and employs more than half of the county&#39;s 17,000 workers. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s going to be pretty tough (saying goodbye),&#39;&#39; said John Minor, vice president of First National Bank and one of the farewell party organizers. <br> <br> The bases&#39; Trident Training Facility is the largest building in Camden County. The Trident Refit Facility has the largest covered drydock in the Western Hemisphere. <br> <br> The USS Pennsylvania was the second Trident submarine to arrive at Kings Bay in 1989, following the USS Tennessee that docked at the base a few months earlier. <br> <br> Also leaving this summer is the USS Kentucky. The move is part of a plan to balance the Atlantic and Pacific Trident submarine fleets.