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Meet the sailors behind the submarines that President Biden visited at Naval Base Point Loma

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Posted at 6:24 PM, Mar 15, 2023
and last updated 2023-03-15 21:36:22-04

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Naval Base Point Loma is home to some of the most capable attack submarines in the world.

"Squadron 11 is in charge of the submarines here," said Lt. Cecilia

It’s also the squadron President Joe Biden visited Monday to announce a major submarine deal with Australia and the United Kingdom.

Lieutenant Cecilia Cajandig works on mission and training during the summer and a program that brings other countries in to perform exercises.

"The boat we have here is the USS Missouri. The Missouri is actually the boat that President Biden highlighted during the AUKUS announcement," said Lt. Cajandig.

World leaders toured the USS Missouri after the AUKUS deal was announced.

"The exact details are still being worked out by the three nations. But they are looking at home ports like San Diego and other places where we have submarines to see how we do business to determine what portions of that they are going to adopt," said Captain Kenneth Douglas.

The squadron is responsible for equipping and training six submarines to provide combat forces to the Indo-Pacific.

Captain Kenneth Douglas is the commodore of the squadron and says his 1,500 sailors work tirelessly.

"To make sure that any of these submarines, if called upon by the president, are ready to deploy at a moment's notice," said Capt. Douglas.

During wartime, the submarines at squadron 11 are tasked with sinking enemy ships.

During peacetime, the submarines conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

He called the visit an honor and was even able to meet the commander and chief.

"We shared a couple of hometown stories since we both grew up in the northeast," said Capt. Douglas.