The USS Connecticut was ordered in 1991 and launched in 1997. Its motto is “Arsenal of the Nation.” In 2003 the USS Connecticut broke through the ice in the Arctic at the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station. While it was there, a polar bear attacked the submarine. It gnawed on its rudder for awhile before letting it go and walking away without causing any serious damage to the submarine.
The sub is still in active service and has done several deployments in 2007 and 2008. Its homeport is Kitsap Naval Base, Bremerton, Washington. She was put to sea in 2004 to support the War on Terrorism as part of the Wasp Expeditionary Strike Group. After that tour she was put to port for three years before coming back out in 2007 to fight again.