USS Alexandria (SSN-757)

USS Alexandria (SSN-757), a Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, is the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for both Alexandria, Virginia, and Alexandria, Louisiana.

Construction
The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 26 November 1984. Her keel was laid down on 19 June 1987.

Pre-commissioning Unit
The history of the Alexandria as a U.S. Navy warship begins with the staffing of what is known as the Pre-commissioning Unit (PCU) Alexandria. CDR Wilbur Cooke was the Commanding Officer of the Unit. Construction delays necessitated the detachment of CDR Cooke on 6 October 1989, and the assignment of Commander Paul E. Normand in his place on 11 December 1989.

Launch
The ship was launched on 23 June 1990, sponsored by Mrs. Myrtle "Tookie" Clark, wife of retired Vice Admiral Glenwood Clark, on 29 June 1991. Commander Normand remained in command.

Sea trials
The Pre-commissioning Unit Alexandria was placed in service on 22 March 1991. A series of sea trials began shortly thereafter:
 * 16 April 1991 &mdash; Underway Alpha trials
 * 16 April 1991 &mdash; Underway Bravo trials
 * 17 May 1991 &mdash; Underway Charlie trials
 * 4 June 1991 &mdash; Underway Delta trials and Combined Acceptance Trial

Commissioning
USS Alexandria (SSN-757) was commissioned at submarine base New London on 29 June 1991, CDR Normand commanding, and given the motto "Twice as Strong" in honor of her two namesakes. Guest speakers at the ship commissioning ceremony were:
 * COMmander, SUBmarine Force US AtLANTic Fleet (COMSUBLANT)
 * The Commander of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA)
 * The U.S. Navy Supervisor of Shipbuilding
 * The Mayors of Alexandria, Louisiana and Alexandria, Virginia
 * U.S. Representative Ronald K. Machtley, (R) Rhode Island
 * The Ship's Sponsor

Recent operations
Alexandria, together with the guided-missile cruiser USS Cowpens (CG-63), the frigate USS Gary (FFG-51), and P-3C Orion maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, participated in Exercise Malabar 2004, a training exercise with the Indian Navy off the southwest coast of India that ended 11 October 2004.

Some scenes for the movie Stargate: Continuum take place on board Alexandria. The then-captain of Alexandria, Cmdr. Mike Bernacchi, and members of his crew played themselves. The ship was also used as a filming location in the JAG / NCIS universe, although she was referred to there as the fictional USS Cathedral City.

In March 2007, Alexandria was participating in the Joint U.S. Navy/Royal Navy Ice Exercise 2007 (ICEX-2007), conducted in the Arctic Ocean with the Trafalgar-class submarine HMS Tireless (S88). The exercise took place on and under a drifting ice floe, about 180 nmi off the north coast of Alaska. The two submarines were taking part in joint testing of submarine operability and tactical development in Arctic waters. On 21 March, Tireless experienced an explosion of a self-contained oxygen generation candle. Tireless suffered only superficial damage, but two crew members were killed and one injured.