A USS Chicago crew was pleasantly surprised to find 108 deep-dish Chicago-style pizzas delivered last month to Hawaii after working 10 months oversees.
The pizzas were packaged with dry ice and transported to a storage location where they remained until the day of undocking, according to a statement released. The submarine's culinary specialist then cooked the pizzas at a nearby facility and delivered them to the Los Angeles Class fast-attack submarine USS CHICAGO (SSN 721).
"It is difficult to describe how eating a pizza on top of 6,000 tons of steel and a nuclear reactor can be a defining moment in one's career," said Lt. Cmdr. Michael Brown, Chicago's executive officer.
The pies were sent by the 721 Club and its affiliate the Union Club of Chicago, private organizations committed to supporting the submarine since it was commissioned in 1986.
Both organizations have supported Chicago’s crew—which now consists of 17 officers, 18 chief petty officers, and 113 junior enlisted—over the course of the ship’s life to enhance crew morale and show Chicago's support of their namesake submarine.
Chicago is a nuclear-powered, fast-attack submarine currently homeported in Pearl Harbor and assigned to Submarine Squadron Seven. The submarine was commissioned on Sept. 27, 1986.
