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Sunday, May 27, 2007

Native New Mexican Commands Namesake Sub

By Leslie Linthicum
Journal Staff Writer
    He was born in Shiprock, a landlocked desert town. He grew up in Cedar Crest and Tijeras, in the mountains. But he attended high school at St. Pius X, on a mesa overlooking the mighty Rio Grande.
    Maybe that's why Robert Dain joined the Navy, rose to the rank of commander and, in a happy coincidence, received a submarine named the New Mexico as his first command.
    "Random chance" is how Dain, 42, describes the coincidence of a native New Mexican commanding a ship named after the state.
    He assumed command of the New Mexico last August and will train its crew and oversee the building of the Virginia-class attack submarine. Construction of components of the New Mexico began in early 2004 in Connecticut and Virginia and the sub is about half built. It is on schedule to be completed in 2008 and christened sometime in 2009.
    The New Mexico will join the USS Albuquerque and the USS Santa Fe, both Los Angeles-class fast attack nuclear submarines. The Albuquerque is based in Groton, Conn., and the Santa Fe is based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
    Sixty men are already assigned to the New Mexico, even though she isn't finished.
    The crew members are mostly engineering specialists who are testing the boat's systems as they are completed.
    The New Mexico is the sixth of the Virginia-class subs, which will replace the older Los Angeles-class subs.
    "Really, it's to meet the needs of the future," Dain said. The Virginia-class is a little longer and a little faster and can launch and collect Navy SEALS while submerged.
    The New Mexico will be able to arrive undetected off the coast of a hostile country with a special forces team, while a ship or plane would be detected.
    "Then you can deploy them and you can retrieve them after their mission is complete— all covertly," Dain said.
    The New Mexico will also be without the old-fashioned periscopes. The Virginia-class subs replace the periscope with a computer system that allows the control room crew to move an above-surface viewfinder with a joy stick and the image to be displayed on a monitor.
    Dain was hired by the Navy while still in college. After graduating from Colorado State University with an electrical engineering degree, he attended officer candidate school. Attracted by their complex technical nature, Dain started serving on submarines.
    Accepting the New Mexico command took "about a nano second," Dain said. His parents, Judy and retired physician David, who live in the Manzano mountains, are delighted that their native son is commanding the New Mexico.
    And Dain is making efforts to bring a little New Mexico to the New Mexico.
    "Part of my goal is to infuse some of the rich culture of New Mexico into the crew and the boat," he said. He brings back sacks of green chile each time he visits home and recently served the crew green chile enchiladas.