Navy Submarine Honored with Top Unit Award for 3 Secret Intelligence Missions

The USS Washington, a Navy fast-attack submarine, has been awarded a prestigious unit award for its work in securing key intelligence while deployed to the European theater, the service revealed in a statement.

The Virginia-class fast-attack submarine, also known as the "Blackfish," was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for "outstanding performance in action while conducting operations within U.S. Sixth Fleet" during a recent six-month deployment, a Navy statement announced Friday.

The citation can be awarded to any U.S. military unit that has distinguished itself through outstanding performance and heroism in action against enemy forces. The Navy's submarine service has a long history of earning the honor for secret and clandestine activities that have begun to become public only in the last several decades.

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According to the Navy, the Washington "completed three demanding missions vital to national security that resulted in obtaining sensitive and unique intelligence information."

No other information was provided by the service. Navy officials told Military.com on Tuesday that "due to the sensitive nature of the deployment, no other details are available."

The sub left its homeport of Norfolk, Virginia, in May 2023 and returned in mid-December 2023. The Sixth Fleet oversees operations in the waters of Europe, and its website shows that its area of responsibility "covers all of Russia." The Navy statement notes that the boat made port visits in Faslane, Scotland -- a town north of Glasgow -- and Grotsund, a town located on the northern tip of Norway.

The crew was also awarded the newly announced Arctic Service Medal "in recognition of the Blackfish's exceptional service and dedication during operations in the strategic Arctic region."

The statement suggests that the sub had to loiter in the waters in the Sixth Fleet area of responsibility for exceptionally long periods of time. It praises "the crew's superb planning, discipline, and material management [that] ensured the submarine remained on task through long periods without readily accessible support."

The Washington "garnered more days on station than any East Coast deployment on record," the Navy's statement added.

Vice Adm. Rob Gaucher, commander of the Navy's submarine forces, called the Presidential Unit Citation "a profound honor, signifying the crew's exceptional dedication and strategic impact."

"Their work in challenging, high-risk environments completing vital national-level missions demonstrates the key role our submarines play in ensuring maritime security and global stability," Gaucher added.

The Navy's silent service has a quiet tradition of espionage and intelligence work that will occasionally bubble into public view when a boat receives a prestigious award like the Presidential Unit Citation.

Before the Washington, it appears that the last submarine in recent memory to publicly receive a similar honor was the Seawolf-class submarine USS Jimmy Carter, more than a decade ago.

The Carter is somewhat famous in Navy circles for having an aura of secrecy about the ship and its missions, as well as just what its capabilities actually are.

In 2013, the Carter and her crew were awarded the presidential citation for conducting what is only known as "Mission 7." According to the award citation, the ship "performed under a wide range of adverse and extremely stressful conditions without external support," adding that "this deployment continued USS Jimmy Carter's tradition of excellence in pursuit of vital national security goals."

Carter's submarine predecessor was the USS Parche -- widely considered to be the most decorated vessel in U.S. naval history.

Among that submarine's achievements, according to the authors of the book "Blind Man's Bluff," was successfully tapping into Soviet underwater military communication cables in the Sea of Okhotsk as part of a joint CIA and National Security Agency mission called Operation Ivy Bells.

Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew, the authors of "Blind Man's Bluff," wrote that the mission to the Sea of Okhotsk was actually a trial for the Parche -- "to prove herself before anyone dared to send her to that other, far more dangerous sea."

The book explains that, after the submarine was successful in the Pacific, she was sent to the far more crowded and dangerous Barents Sea where, in order to stay hidden, the submarine moved under the Arctic ice before making her way into congested shipping lanes.

Based on the Washington's port calls and Arctic award, it appears that the ship operated in the same area for at least some of its deployment.

By the time the Parche was decommissioned, she had amassed a staggering 10 Presidential Unit Citations, nine Navy Unit Citations, and 13 Expeditionary Awards, among other honors.

According to the Navy's statement, the Washington's crew was presented their citation by outgoing commander Capt. Timothy Poe at his change of command ceremonyJuly 19 at Naval Station Norfolk.

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