SILVERDALE – Former President Jimmy Carter visited the Kitsap Peninsula May 29 to attend a change of command ceremony for the submarine named in his honor – the USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23) at Naval Base Kitsap – Bangor.

During the ceremony, Cmdr. Melvin Smith relieved Cmdr. Brian Elkowitz as commanding officer of the Seawolf-class attack submarine at Deterrent Park at the base.

“What makes me so proud is to have been the only submariner to have served as commander in chief and also to have a submarine named after me,” Carter said.

“Of all the honors I have ever received, I’ve never had anything of greater honor than the chance to be the namesake of USS Jimmy Carter.”

Carter is one of six living people with ships named after them. He has been actively interested in the ship over the course of its life and previously visited during its christening and commissioning.

Carter remains the only U.S. president to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy as well as the only one to qualify on submarines. Graduating in 1946, he served in the Navy until 1953. He served as the governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975 and as the commander in chief from 1977 to 1981.

The ship’s sponsor, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, also attended the event. Tradition holds that a sponsor’s spirit and presence guides a ship and her crew throughout its service life.

During Elkowitz’s command tour, which began in March, 2012, the crew of the USS Jimmy Carter completed five missions vital to national security and underwent a 17-month-long docking phased maintenance availability period.

“I could not have asked for a better ship, crew and supporting cast,” Elkowitz said.

“I am incredibly lucky to have been part of such an extremely talented team – a team that has accomplished so much for the Navy and our nation. We have done things that we can never tell others about, and must be content with the knowledge we carry within that what we did has made a difference,” he said.

In addition, the USS Jimmy Carter earned the Battle Efficiency Award, or Battle “E”, for 2012 and 2013. The ship was honored with the U.S. Submarine Forces Pacific Retention Excellence Award for 2012 and 2014, as well as the crew being awarded the Presidential Unit Commendation and the Navy Unit Commendation.

Elkowitz’s next assignment will be to the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Smith reports to the USS Jimmy Carter from Navy Personnel Command, where he was the submarine assignments branch head and executive officer detailer.

USS Jimmy Carter is the last and most advanced of the Seawolf-class attack submarines and is currently homeported at Bangor. The one-of-a-kind vessel has all the capabilities of a Seawolf-class submarine, plus a 100-foot-long, 2,500-ton hull extension known as the multi-mission platform to test new generations of weapons and support Navy SEAL (Sea, Air and Land forces) operations.

For more news from Commander, Submarine Group 9, visit www.navy.mil/local/csg9/

Former President Jimmy Carter is piped aboard during his arrival at the change of command ceremony for USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23) at Naval Base Kitsap – Bangor. Carter’s previous visits to the ship included its christening and commissioning.

Cmdr. Melvin Smith (right) takes command of USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23) from Cmdr. Brian Elkowitz (left) during a change of command ceremony at Naval Base Kitsap – Bangor. The ceremony included the ship’s namesake, former President Jimmy Carter, as well as former Director of Naval Reactors retired Adm. Kirkland Donald.