COURTESY U.S. NAVY The USS Key West was the first submarine in the North Arabian Gulf a day after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Afghanistan vets
ready to take their
submarine to Iraq

The USS Key West participated
in the 21st century's first
submarine war patrol

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By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com

It was just over a year ago that Operation Enduring Freedom was launched with Tomahawk missile strikes against Afghanistan and at least one Pearl Harbor warship on the front lines.

Now, with the possibility of another war patrol on the horizon, Cmdr. Charles Merkel, a 22-year Navy veteran, says he will do whatever is necessary if his nuclear attack submarine, USS Key West, is called into battle against Iraq.

"This is my job, to do what is required of me," said Merkel, whose 360-foot submarine was the first in the North Arabian Gulf a day after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, ready to fire any of its more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles at targets in Afghanistan.

Like its sister sub, the Connecticut-based USS Providence, the Key West was diverted to the North Arabian Sea minutes after the two planes crashed into the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center.

"More than anything, I feel lucky to have been able to be in that position at that time," Merkel said.

It was just after supper on Sept. 11, 2001, when the Key West came periscope depth in the Indian Ocean. The Key West had left Singapore Sept. 5 and at that point was headed to Bahrain for a liberty call.

Only its antenna broke the surface of the ocean to pull in its latest batch of satellite messages. Four of the messages were flagged with a special alert. Immediately, the radioman on watch called Merkel on a special intercom in his stateroom summarizing the dispatches.

"Basically, the messages said that the attacks occurred, and they gave me immediate direction on what we had to do," said Merkel, who, like the rest of the 130 sailors aboard the Key West, had never been on a combat patrol.

Merkel, 42, immediately left his stateroom and went to the radio room to establish a voice communication with the 5th Fleet and the carrier USS Carl Vinson battle group.

"We were told to leave communication depth and make best speed to the North Arabian Sea," Merkel said.

As the smoky-gray Key West dived deep in the Indian Ocean, Merkel made preparations to begin the 21st century's first submarine war patrol. He also went on the sub's intercom to let the crew know what was happening.

"The submarine is a small place," said Merkel, who had been in command of the Key West for only 10 months. "There aren't many secrets aboard a sub, and the crew knew something had happened. I told them two planes had flown into the World Trade Center and there had been an explosion at the Pentagon.

"I told them everything I knew."

GREGG K. KAKESAKO / GKAKESAKO@STARBULLETIN.COM It was just after supper on Sept. 11, 2001, that Cmdr. Charles Merkel received notice of the terrorist attacks, and he and the USS Key West were ordered to go to the North Arabian Sea.

Four of the Key West sailors were from New York City.

"Right away, I sent a message requesting information on their families," Merkel said. "It took about a week to track them down and to find out that no one was hurt."

Merkel said: "At first, it was hard to believe or accept what had happened. But the bottom line was that you had to believe that it was our job to do what our nation required us to do."

For the Key West, that meant it was to be on the front line, armed and ready to strike. Within a day the Key West was "on station" -- the first ship with the potential to deliver any of its Tomahawk missiles to targets in Afghanistan more than 300 miles inland.

"As we moved into position, I kept in communication with my battle group (USS Carl Vinson) and the 5th Fleet," Merkel said.

When orders for a strike finally came in October, Merkel believed his crew was ready.

He described the first launch on Oct. 26 as "no different than firing a torpedo."

"You can hear the air valves cycling, and your ears can feel the change," Merkel said.

"Then there is a whoosh" as the boosters of the Tomahawk are ignited, he said. But if the 6,900-ton sub moved at that moment, Merkel did not feel anything, he said.

"You can hear the roar of the engines through the ship's sonar system, but nothing else," he said.

Merkel cannot say how many Tomahawks the Key West fired or the types of targets it was ordered to take out.

When asked if his missiles hit all of its targets, Merkel answered in matter-of-fact manner.

"Yes, it was successful. ... We met all our taskings," he said.

"It was just like all the exercises we had trained for," Merkel added. "We make these exercises intensive. ... It was just like a training exercise. Obviously, this time it was for real."

The Key West left the 5th Fleet's area just before Thanksgiving, returning to Pearl Harbor on Dec. 15.

It now sits in Pearl Harbor, preparing for another deployment and the possibility of firing missiles at Iraq sometime next year.