This was a page from Ricks web site. Rick posted information provided by crew-mates about the status of the Birmingham.

as of Mon 19 April 99
Gene Doyle reports:
Hey Rick,
Got a chance yesterday to tour the ex-Birmingham as she sits in the boneyard down in Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. She is one of about 24 ex subs in this boneyard. She is extensively ripped apart inside, but her engineroom is still mostly intact. Her RC is still there. The forward compartment is, by and large, completly disassembled with the exception of control, which remains somewhat intact.
If anyone ever gets a chance to go to PSNS and see her, DO IT. It may bring a tear to your eye, but it will also bring back extremely good memories.
I couldn't get a camera in there. cameras only authorized for "official purposes". If anyone can get a boat out into the sound by the shipyard, she is visible from the bay.
as of Mon 31 August 98
Ron Mannhalter, A-gang plankowner reports:
She is in parked at dock 6E and can be seen from the ferry. They said to call next month and see when it's placed into the Code 300 or 360 or some such group that takes control of the ships at that point in the process. He said the Sacramento is there also and B'ham could be moved down by the Hammerhead. Also this Code 300 or whatever would be the group to pass out pieces of the boat (Gulp) Told the guy it was (OUR GIRL)....I called the port manager I gather....or some similar function.
as of Tue 11 August 98
Hi Rick,
This is Laura Kelley (MMC Mark Kelley's wife). Mark is on the tow crew to take Birmingham back to the mainland. Many gathered at the Nevada Memorial where Cheryl Kenny had invited us to join her for breakfast (Thank You Cheryl). Captain Kenny could not join us today, but CDR. Burke shared a few words with us in his place. It was a sad, but proud moment to witness The Birmingham as she left Pearl Harbor for the last time. She was hooked up to The Sioux (a sea going tow ship) with a special frame over the cone of her nose. (It reminded me of a horse being lead to pasture.) A small tug followed her. Mark and the tow crew rode her out to handle lines but by the time they reached Hickam Harbor the men had been transferred onto the Sioux.

As I watched her faded shell leave the harbor, I still felt so proud and was happy to know that Mark and I had shared in just a little part of her history. Farewell Birmingham!

I took pictures and as soon as I get them developed and scanned I will forward them on to you.

With Regards,
Laura Kelley

as of Sun 26 July 98
UPDATE JULY 26, 1998 The new time the BIRMINGHAM will be towed for it's final departure from Pearl Harbor is 8 AM on August 10th. (This time has changed from 9 AM that was in earlier posts.) We will begin meeting for breakfast at 7:30 AM at the Nevada Memorial at Hospital Point , Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Please bring a breakfast item that can be shared. Cheryl Kenny MCSKENNY@AOL.COM
as of Wed 15 July 98
Former CO, Mark Kenny reports:

USS BIRMINGHAM
FINAL PEARL HARBOR DEPARTURE BREAKFAST AND VIEWING INVITATION

AUGUST 10 , 1998 8:30 AM BREAKFAST, 9:00 AM VIEWING
(TENTATIVE DATE AND TIME, WILL BE UPDATED IF CHANGED)
USS NEVADA MEMORIAL, HOSPITAL POINT, PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII

PLEASE BRING A BREAKFAST ITEM THAT CAN BE SHARED!

USS BIRMINGHAM AND USS CAVALLA WILL BE MAKE THE FINAL TOWED JOURNEY TOGETHER
ALL FORMER SHIPMATES AND FRIENDS ARE INVITED

RSVP (YES ONLY) CAPTAIN (SEL) MARK & CHERYL KENNY

as of Sun 15 Mar 98
Former ELPO Mike Jensen reports:

I got a tour of the USS Cheyenne yesterday evening, our newest nuclear powered warship. As I was leaving, I ran into a old B'ham shipmate, currently assigned to the Indy, who told me that Bham finally came out of the dry dock on Wednesday. mike

as of Thu 26 Feb 98
Former COB MMC Mark Kelley wishes to pass on the following to all shipmates:

"As far as the Birmingham goes, I have transferred to the USS Indianapolis which arrived last week to commence its inactivation. The Birmingham is not out if the drydock yet, the dock is being cleared for an undocking somewhere in the next 10 days, I did however find myself down on her yesterday removing some torpedo handling system components to support another ship". Regards Mark

as of Mon 05 Jan 98
COB MMC Mark Kelley wishes to pass on the following to all shipmates:

"The Decommissioning ceremony for USS BIRMINGHAM was held on 22 December 1997 at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. Officiated by CDR J.R. Burke, Commanding Officer, who gave some outstanding remarks concerning the exploits of BIRMINGHAM and her crew as well as congratulations to the shipyard team for their efforts. The CO gave 9 members of the project team a decommissioning plaque. The order was given to me to haul down the Commissioning Pennant and the Ensign at 0920. Thirty Two remaining crew members and officers came to attention as I gave the order to haul down the pennant and ensign. I received the Commissioning Pennant from ET2 Jackson and SA Morgan gave me the Ensign which I in turn presented both to CDR Burke. It was a somber ceremony to say goodbye to an outstanding ship that in her final year of operation won the Battle E, Tactical T, and two Meritorious Unit Commendations."

Myself and 4 others will remain with BIRMINGHAM until mid-January to finish up some valve lineups and testing in the engine room. The 5 of us will transfer to the INDIANAPOLIS to start the decom process all over again.

The ship is supposed to be stricken from the register of commissioned vessels effective 23 December 1997. There is still about 30 - 45 days worth of work the shipyard needs to do before undocking, after that she will sit pierside at PHNSY until Aug - Sept 1998 when she will be towed to Puget Sound.

One last thing, I have no more decom plaques or insignia goods, please remove the paragraph from the web site. I will be returning checks as they come in. I do know that the USS Bowfin Memorial museum has some BIRMINGHAM memorabilia (they bought the stuff from us and put a heavy mark-up on the items)

Mike Jensen's observations:

The ceremony was quick and nothing seemed different afterwards, the 25 or so guys who were still attached stuck around and we had to clean up the barge in order to turn it over to its rightful owners. After that the guys who transfered on the on the 22nd got their records and left. The YNs also passed out records to the guys transfering on the 23rd and then we all went home.

The real change was on the 23rd. The remaining guys, about 15 all together, showed up at the normal time (prior to 0725, 0710 for LPOs and Officers), but their was no LPO call or Officer call. No one was concerned with a muster. No one had anything to "put out". We just stood around the trailer that the "skeleton crew" had for an office. At 0800 we turned over the Ship's Security watch to the shipyard. EM1(SS) Gary (Jed) Flowers had duty the day before, and even have had the last watch.Mark Kelley told his guys what their routine would be and we all turned in our security badges to him and left around 0815. It seemed very weird.

as of Mon 22 Dec 97
Mike Jensen reports:
We'll have a small ceremony on the 23rd, where we'll haul down the flag and the commissioning pennant for the final time.
mike
Note: Mike's last day aboard is 23 Dec.
Plankowners should call COB, at (808)474-4113 and verify that you are on the list to receive a ship's commemorative placque made from battery-well wood and torpedoroom brass. All that is asked is that you send a check for $5.00, made payable to USS Birmingham Rec Committee, to cover the costs of shipping. The Navy is paying for production. Mail you check to: USS Birmingham (SSN-695), FPO AP 96661-2375 Attn: Rec. Committee
Note: LT Jim Billotta is no longer on the boat and there is no remaining stock of insignia goods (hats, lighters, etc). The Ship's Store is secured.
EMC Mike Jensen reports:
We are winding things up here, and crew release will happen as planned. The first guy will transfer of 16 December, with almost everyone else gone by 23 December. There may still be a small skeleton crew, but it will only be about 10 guys.

We have reduced the watchstanding requirements, so yesterday I had the privilege to single up the Duty Chief. That made me the Duty Chief on the boat in Drydock #1 exactly 56 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor. (0755, 7 Dec 41.) I do believe that the last time a ship experienced flooding in the drydock was 7 December 1941.

as of Tue 14 Nov 97
The yard is just starting to seal up hull cuts while the defueling is taking place. They have never handled a boat as big a 688 before. A lot of metal had been removed from the boat especially forward, so that it is completely opened up now except for the wardroom.
Most of the crew leaves mid to late December. A skeleton crew will remain until ex-Birmingham is floated out and parked until another other boat is ready. Tentatively the number is 8 forward-types and 4 or 5 nukes. This remaining crew leaves 2 or 3 weeks afterwards.
Then it is off to PSNS for final dismantling. It used to be that boats had their Rx compartments removed and the rest welded back together and left floating in plain view of the public ferry. But, now it seems they go to drydock and come out one piece at a time, never to float again.
No word yet on an official ceremony, but since the boat is in a controlled area it will not be open to the public or press. Now, would YOU want Birmingham to be seen this way? I think not.

Old News

The Birmingham was inactivated 3/27/97 at Pearl Harbor, HI. Invitations were sent out to those found in time. All but one former CO attended, as well as 2 former COBs, 11 plankowners, several other former crewmembers, 3 crewmembers of HMS Birmingham, as well as others.
She is soon to be decommissioned, the first 688 to do so there. She will likely be sent to PSNS where her reactor comparment will be cut out and shipped to Hanford, WA for burial at a later date. The remaining portions will be welded back together and ex-Birmingham will rust along with other boats until a final disposition is made.

You can call the boat at (808) 471-3314/474-8593, ask for EM2 Gary Flowers or EM1 Mike Jensen. They may be able to help you get an inactivation program, but few remain, so be pushy. If neither is available, ask for the XO, a PN or a YN. The boat's address was: CO, USS Birmingham SSN-695, FPO AP 96661-2375.

Visit the official Birmingham webpage for current crew email addresses.
May 8: Cdr James "Randy" Burke relieved Cdr. Mark Kenny as CO of Birmingham, who has transferred to ComSubPac staff.
Mike Jensen sent the following news:
Everything is rather routine down on the waterfront. We are being led to belive that the inactivation is proceeding acording to schedule, ending in mid December '97. I'm not sure if that's actually the case. It's hard to tell as of yet.
The plan here is to prepare the boat for towing to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton where they actually cut it up into pieces for "recycling". They are the shipyard slated to actually cut up all the old boats, and not so old boats like ours. The work here involves laying up all the systems, most "as is", removing all the hazmat (oil, battery, etc...), and rendering the boat non-submersible by blanking off all the hull penetrations, and MBT openings. Addionally, all the equipment that can be used by boats out here, amd stuff they are likely to need is yanked out for refurbishment. Our non-nuclear trained shipmates (coners in the non pc world) man the below decks watch, casualty control center watch, and a barge watch, and plenty of fire watches for all the hull blanks and hull cuts. We, on the other hand, man our normal shutdown watches, some fire watches, and operate what's left of the plant. Not much is left.
The nuclear goal is to defuel the plant and ready the RC for disposal at PSNS. They cut it out and bury it in a trench with some 100 others somewhere in Washington state. We've got about a zillioin temporary systems hooked up to support this, and they built a big defueling enclosure on top of the boat to get ready for the big event..
The boat is actually nothing like the proud warship it once was. The entire forward compartment is gutted, most of the "walls" are now missing. The ER is still recognisable, but major pieces are gone, and it gets worse everyday.
I'll keep you posted-
mike