The month of January offers two stark reminders about the challenges of operating submarines in the undersea environment, and the fine line between safety and tragedy.

On Jan. 8, 2005, San Francisco (SSN 711), collided with an undersea mountain while operating at high speed in the western Pacific Ocean. The Los Angeles-class submarine, built at Newport News Shipbuilding and launched in 1979, sustained massive damage. Half the crew suffered injuries, and a third were too badly hurt to operate their assigned stations. Despite that, the crew regained control of the boat and drove to the surface.

Newport News shipbuilder Steve Simmons (O15), served as a nuclear electrician on San Francisco in 2000-2001. Simmons recently posted his thoughts about the accident on social media.

“This was my fourth ship,” he wrote. “Some of the men who had served under me aboard her were still there the day this happened. I will never stop treasuring the news of how magnificently they performed in my absence.”

The second January reminder occurred 42 years ago on Jan. 16, 1982. Five Navy divers lost their lives during operations off the coast of the Philippines aboard Grayback (LPSS 574), which was built at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California. This tragedy spurred the Navy’s Deep Submergence/Scope of Certification program (DSS-SOC), implementing improvements in safety that pay dividends to this day.

A communication sent to the NNS submarine community on Jan. 16 reads in part: “We cannot undo the tragedies of the past, but we can learn from them, revise our standards as necessary, and adhere to those standards rigidly. We owe those who died aboard USS Grayback, their teammates and friends, nothing less.”