Buffalo Arrives on Guam

USS Buffalo arrives on Guam
By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff
friday, 27 july 07
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THE USS Buffalo, which has been reassigned from Pearl Harbor to Guam, has arrived on island and is set to hold a formal change of command ceremony today.

The fast-attack, Los Angeles-class submarine arrived on Guam July 19 and joins two other submarines homeported on Guam — the USS City of Corpus Christi and the USS Houston.

According to the COMNAVMAR public affairs office, the USS Buffalo’s crew will hold its change-of-command ceremony on U.S. Naval Base Guam today. During the ceremony, Cmdr. Brian Humm will be relieved by Cmdr. Scott Pappano, who recently served at the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

The guest speaker will be Rear Adm. Bill French, commander of the U.S. Naval Forces Marianas.

Humm will report to Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

The USS Buffalo, which now reports to Submarine Squadron 15, is an integral part of the Navy’s ability to provide forward presence and project power around the world.

According to the Navy, the mainstays of her abilities are stealth, speed, endurance, and flexibility and with her state-of-the-art combat systems, she can perform traditional sea control operations as well as stride targets on shore.

The USS Buffalo, the Navy’s 25th Los Angeles-class submarine, has a crew of approximately 130 sailors.

Like other submarines in her class, the USS Buffalo is capable of carrying the most advanced weapons available to the submarine force.

Included in her arsenal are the MK-48 advanced capability torpedo and the Tomahawk land attack cruise missile.

According to the U.S. Naval Forces Public Affairs Office, the relocation of the USS Buffalo maintains the U.S. Navy’s commitment to preserve a forward-deployed presence of three submarines in Guam after the USS San Francisco met an accident in 2005.