Rear Adm. Joseph Enright is
new
leader of Submarine Group 7 By Steve Liewer, Yokosuka bureau chief
YOKOSUKA
NAVAL BASE, Japan — Rear Adm. Joseph Enright took the helm Thursday of Submarine
Group 7, the Yokosuka-based command that oversees the operations of submarines in the
western Pacific and Indian oceans.
Enright
took over his new command from Rear Adm. Joseph Krol at a ceremony on the base’s
submarine pier alongside the attack submarine USS Chicago, which pulled into port earlier
this week for the occasion.
Rear Adm.
Albert Konetzni, commander of the Pacific Submarine Force, and Vice Adm. James Metzger,
commander of U.S. Naval Forces Japan, spoke at the change of command ceremony. Konetzni
headed Sub Group 7 from 1995-98. Metzger, too, is a career submariner.
Submarine
Group 7 was created shortly after the Korean War as Submarine Group Western Pacific to
serve as squadron commander and administrative coordinator for subs in the region. It also
controls Sub Squadron 15, which was reactivated in Guam last month, and the sub tender USS
Frank Cable, also based in Guam.
Enright
graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1971. He has served tours aboard the USS Ray and
the USS Sam Houston, was executive officer of ballistic missile submarine USS Mariano G.
Vallejo and commanded the attack submarine USS Honolulu.
His shore
tours included Submarine Squadron 7 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; chief of staff of Carrier
Group 7 in San Diego; and, most recently, deputy director of plans and policy for the U.S.
Strategic Command in Nebraska. He and his wife, Judi, have two children.
Enright
takes over Sub Group 7 at a critical time for the Navy’s submarine force. Konetzni
has led a high-profile campaign called "Save Our Submarines" in hopes of
lobbying Congress to boost the number of subs in the fleet to 68.
And the
Pacific submarine fleet is grappling with the accidental sinking of a Japanese fishing
boat, Ehime Maru, off Hawaii by the USS Greeneville, which has raised tensions between the
United State and Japan.
Back to March's stories
Page Two news roundup
Stories from February, 2001
Stories from January, 2001
Stories from December, 2000
Stories from November, 2000
Stories from October, 2000
Stories from August and September, 2000
Stories from June and July, 2000
Home |
