Green Ridge alum on new USS Missouri crew

A Green Ridge High School graduate will be part of the new USS Missouri’s first crew.

Benjamin Bowers, a sonar technician in the U.S. Navy, will be aboard the new submarine, named after the Show Me State, when pre-commissioning unit Missouri SSN 780 is commissioned into the Navy’s fleet at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Conn.

Bowers reported in April 2009 to PCU Missouri as a basic sonar operator. He was born in Cottage Grove, Ore., and graduated from Green Ridge High School in 2007.

After graduation, he enlisted in the Navy in March 2008. He completed basic training at Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Ill., followed by basic submarine school and sonar technician school in Groton, Conn.

According to a U.S. Navy news release, Bowers has earned the National Defense Medal and the Global War On Terrorism Medal.

Missouri, the seventh submarine of the Virginia class, is the fifth Navy ship to be named in honor of the state. The last USS Missouri was where Fleet Adm. Chester Nimitz, Gen. Douglas MacArthur and many other officers accepted the unconditional surrender of the Japanese at the end of World War II on Sept. 2, 1945.

The 7,800-ton submarine Missouri is being built under an arrangement between General Dynamics Electric Boat and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding-Newport News.

The submarine is 377 feet long, which is slightly longer than a football field. The submarine has a 34-foot beam, will be able to dive to depths greater than 800 feet and will operate at speeds in excess of 25 knots submerged.

The Missouri is designed with a nuclear reactor plant that will not require refueling during the life of the ship, according to the release.

Crew members moved aboard the submarine April 16 to begin day-to-day operations. The crew of 134 officers and enlisted personnel is led by Cmdr. Timothy Rexrode.