Don't Mess With Texas
When the United States Navy’s newest and most advanced attack submarine is commissioned in Galveston tomorrow, HSU alumnus, Commander Albert Onley, Jr., will officiate as the boat’s commissioning executive officer. First Lady Laura Bush headlines an impressive list of dignitaries as she officially names the boat.
USS Texas SSN 775 is the 5th ship to bear the state’s name. The first was a Confederate battleship, the second and third were also battleships. The third Battleship Texas is now a museum near the San Jacinto Monument. A nuclear guided missile cruiser was also named Texas, but was decommissioned in 1977 and now sits in a scrap-yard.
USS Texas SSN 775 entering Galveston's harbor
The new USS Texas takes its slogan from the famous roadside littering campaign: “Don’t Mess With Texas;� not that anyone who’s seen the sub’s massive torpedo tubes or topside missile silos would think of messing with this undersea fortress (or littering around it, for that matter). The boat, which cost approximately $1.65 billion, is capable of carrying a complement of Tomahawk missiles, VLS tubes, MK-48 torpedoes, advanced mobile mines and unmanned undersea vehicles. The Virginia Class submarine will be stationed at the New London Navy Base in Groton Connecticut once commissioned.
Onley below-deck, prior to his recent promotion to Commander
Commander Onley, HSU class of 1990, received his bachelor of science in Chemistry prior to taking a commission in the Navy. A native of Greenville, Cdr. Onley’s rise through the ranks has been rapid. Although the drive from Greenville is a long one, he says this is one event his family wouldn’t miss.
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