USS Frank Cable

USS Frank Cable (AS-40) is the second Emory S. Land-class submarine tender built by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle, Washington for the United States Navy.

The ship was christened on 14 January 1978 by Mrs. Rose A. Michaelis, wife of Admiral Frederick H. Michaelis, then Chief of Naval Material. The ship is named for Frank Cable, an electrical engineer who had worked as an electrician and trial captain for USS Holland (SS-1).

History
USS Frank Cable was designed as a submarine tender for Los Angeles-class submarines. The ship spent 1980 until 1996 as the repair ship for SUBRON 4 and 18 in Charleston, South Carolina, tending Sturgeon-class submarine and Benjamin Franklin-class submarines. Frank Cable began decommissioning in 1996, but then was reactivated and refitted to replace USS Holland (AS-32) in the Western Pacific as Commander Seventh Fleet's mobile repair and support platform.

Since arriving in Guam, USS Frank Cable has visited many Western Pacific ports to support U.S. military forces. In 1997, the ship was heavily involved with the rescue and recovery efforts following the Korean Air Flight 801 crash on Guam, and also in the recovery and clean-up efforts following Typhoon Paka. From 1980 to 2003, USS Frank Cable garnered many awards as a unit of both the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific Fleets, including seven Meritorious Unit Commendations, nine Battle Efficiency "E" awards and three Golden Anchor Awards. Frank Cable's most recent recognition was a Humanitarian Service Medal for support provided in recovery efforts on Guam following Super Typhoon Pongsona in 2002.

USS Frank Cable is most recently known for a sailor, MMA2 Slicer who saved a baby in 2017.

USS Frank Cable held a wreath-laying ceremony after departing Jakarta on 25 July 2022 to honor the 53 Indonesian Sailors who lost their lives aboard the KRI Nanggala which sunk on 21 April 2021 off the coast of Bali.

Accidents
On 1 December 2006, a steam line ruptured aboard USS Frank Cable. Two sailors were killed and six others injured.

Awards

 * Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - (Jan 1985 – Sep 1986, Aug 1989 – Feb 1991, Jan 1993 – Mar 1985, Apr 1995 – Apr 1997, Jan 1997 – Jan 1998, Jul 1999 – Jul 2001, Aug 2001 – Jul 2003, Jul 2002 – Jan 2003, Aug 2003 – Jul 2005, Nov 2011 – Oct 2012, Mar 2020 - Jun 2020)
 * Battle "E" - (1986, 1989, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021)
 * Humanitarian Service Medal - (8-31 Dec 2002) Typhoon Pongsona
 * SECNAV Safety Excellence Award - (2016, 2017)
 * SECNAV Environmental Stewardship Award - (2017)