BANGOR, WASH. — Crews for the USS Alabama (SSBN 731) received the Omaha Submarine Ballistic Missile Trophy during a ceremony at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, Wash.

The Omaha Trophy is given annually to five outstanding units that represent mission areas for the U.S. Strategic Command or USSTRATCOM. The command and its Consultation Committee sponsor the award.

The USS Alabama is one of eight Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines homeported at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. This base provides the most survivable leg of the nation’s strategic deterrent forces.

The command has global responsibilities that include strategic deterrence, nuclear operations, space operations, joint electromagnetic spectrum operations, global strike, missile defense, analysis and targeting.

The Omaha Trophy dates back to the U.S. Air Force’s Strategic Air Command. The Strategic Command Consultation Committee composed of Omaha business leaders, created the award in 1971.

“Each year, the Strategic Command Consultation Committee looks forward to recognizing the excellence demonstrated by the command’s finest strategic units,” committee member Steven Martin said. “We are honored to join STRATCOM in saluting your outstanding achievements as the command’s best unit in the area of ballistic missile submarine operations.”

In 2017, the USS Alabama successfully completed three strategic deterrent patrols, totaling 238 days of at-sea operations, while achieving 100-percent strategic and navigation readiness in missions vital to national security.

“Alabama’s fighting spirit, their total dedication to teamwork and their excellent reputation for working well together, has contributed significantly to our successes in the past. We will leverage them for our future,” Commanding Officer Jeffrey Yackeren said.

Gen. John E. Hyten, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said, “Every day you go out, you defend our rights as a nation and as a people. I love you for it. Being selected as the finest ballistic missile submarine in the fleet is an awesome accomplishment. Roll Tide!”

Note: Headquartered in Millington, Tenn., the Navy Office of Community Outreach travels globally to collect sailors’ stories. Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Amanda R. Gray, Commander, Submarine Group 9 Public Affairs, researched this story.

For more information, visit outreach.navy.mil, navy.mil/local/csg9 or Facebook.