Yunke compares experience, values to hometown
By Alvin Plexico
U.S. Navy
A Sweet Home native is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS California, one of the world’s most advanced nuclear-powered submarines.
Seaman Douglas Yunke, locally well known as Robby Yunke, a 2019 Sweet Home High School graduate, joined the Navy a year ago.
“I was looking to start my life learning a trade because I knew I didn’t want to go to college right out of high school,” he said.
According to Yunke, the values required to succeed in the military are similar to those found in his hometown.
“No matter what you do, follow through with it,” he said. “If you mess up, own up to your mistakes and do better next time.”
Fast, maneuverable and technically advanced, submarines are some of the Navy’s most versatile ships, capable of silently conducting a variety of missions around the world.
There are three basic types of submarines: fast-attack submarines (SSN), ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) and guided-missile submarines (SSGN).
Fast-attack submarines are designed to hunt down and destroy enemy submarines and surface ships; strike targets ashore with cruise missiles; carry and deliver Navy SEALs; carry out intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions; and engage in mine warfare. Their primary tactical advantage is stealth, operating undetected under the sea for long periods of time.
The Navy’s ballistic-missile submarines, often referred to as “boomers,” serve as a strategic deterrent by providing an undetectable platform for submarine-launched ballistic missiles. SSBNs are designed specifically for stealth, extended patrols and the precise delivery of missiles.
Their design allows the submarines to operate for 15 or more years between major overhauls. On average, the submarines spend 77 days at sea followed by 35 days in port for maintenance.
Guided-missile submarines provide the Navy with unprecedented strike and special operation mission capabilities from a stealthy, clandestine platform. Armed with tactical missiles and equipped with superior communications capabilities, SSGNs are capable of directly supporting combatant commander’s strike and Special Operations Forces requirements.
Each SSGN is capable of carrying 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, plus a complement of heavyweight torpedoes to be fired through four torpedo tubes.
Serving in the Navy means Yunke is part of a world taking on new importance in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of the National Defense Strategy.
“We’re the only branch that’s above water, below the water and in the air,” Yunke said. “It gives the Navy access to get closer to any country in the world.”
With more than 90 percent of all trade traveling by sea, and 95 percent of the world’s international phone and internet traffic carried through fiber optic cables on the ocean floor, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity and security of the United States is directly linked to a strong and ready Navy.
“What our undersea forces accomplish every day is vitally important to our nation’s defense,” said Vice Adm. Daryl Caudle, Commander, Submarine Forces. “Our Submarine Force is a critical part of global maritime security and the nation’s nuclear triad.
“Every day, our submariners are at the tip of the spear, forward deployed and ready – from the depths, we strike.”
As a member of the U.S. Navy, Yunke, as well as other sailors, know they are a part of a service tradition providing unforgettable experiences through leadership development, world affairs and humanitarian assistance. Their efforts will have a lasting effect around the globe and for generations of sailors who will follow.
“It means a lot to serve aboard a submarine,” added Yunke. “We’re a tight-knit community, so we get to know everybody.”