ABOUT

USS Holland AS-32

At reunions shipmates remember the good times and try to forget some of the bad times that we all had at one point in our Holland lives. Even though we all come from different eras in time there is one common bond that unites us and that is the ship itself.

The making of new friends is very exciting for me and I’m sure for everyone else. I always tell shipmates that I make contact with from time to time that we are a Family, it does not matter if you’re “Young or Old”, and from a different era. We all have memories of our time on the ship.

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USS Holland's History

USS Holland (AS-32) was a Hunley class submarine tender launched by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Company in Pascagoula, Mississippi on 19 January 1963. The first ever built specifically to service Fleet Ballistic Missile submarines (SSBNs),[2] she was sponsored by Mrs. John C. Stennis, wife of US Senator John C. Stennis and delivered to the Charleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, South Carolina. Holland was commissioned on 7 September 1963, with Captain Charles W. “Gin” Styer, Jr. in command.

Holland departed Charleston on 14 October for shakedown training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, returning to Charleston on 19 November. She commenced post-shakedown availability on 25 November.

While Holland was neither a submersible nor a combatant ship, she was a vital link in support of the United States first line of deterrence, the Navy’s Polaris missile. She contained a complete machine shop and was capable of making any submarine repair other than major overhaul, including servicing and maintaining the nuclear power plants of Polaris-equipped submarines.

The opening of 1964 found Holland at Charleston, South Carolina, making preparations for deployment to the Polaris replenishment anchorage at Rota, Spain. She arrived in Rota 1 April and relieved Proteus (AS-19) as the fleet submarine tender shortly thereafter. Holland continued her service to the Polaris submarines until relieved 4 November 1966. Holland arrived at Charleston 22 November. There, she tended submarines of the Atlantic Fleet into 1969. In March of that year she returned to Rota for another tour of duty.

From November 1975 – January 1982 she served Submarine Squadron 14 at Holy Loch, Scotland. She was a key contributor along with Irish, British and other naval ships in the rescue of racing yachts caught in a severe storm during the 1979 Fastnet Race.

Holland was decommissioned on 30 September 1996 and moored with the Reserve Fleet in Suisun Bay near San Francisco, California.

On July 10, 2013 she was moved into dry dock at Mare Island for cleaning before being towed to Texas for scrapping. She has since been disassembled.

Awards, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons

Meritorious Unit Citation (4), Battle Efficiency “E” (10), National Defense, Humanitarian Service (2)

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Commanding Officers of the
U.S.S Holland AS-32

Below you will find the name and year(s) they were commanding aboard the U.S.S Holland.

Membership info

If you served aboard AS-32 or AS-3, please send us your contact and service information. The USS Holland AS-32 Association would like to be a source for you and your buddies to find each other.

The USS Holland AS-32 Association encourages former crew members to join.

Dues for Membership are as follows:

The initiation fee is required to offset the cost of the initial mail out to new members.
The membership dues are used to buy materials for mail outs, pay postage, website fees, ship store merchandise, etc., and hopefully keep a small reserve in the event of a reunion cost overrun.