John Francis Ropek this nuclear submarine, Ropek was involved in pioneering oceanographic studies under the polar ice cap of the North Pole, resulting in the report "Characteristics of Polar Ice Observed During the 1957 Arctic Cruise of the USS Nautilus" (Defense Technical Information Center 1958). As a scientist he published many technical papers, such as "US Navy Hydrographic Office synoptic and prognostic wave charts" (US Navy Hydrographic Office 1955), and "An Application of Naval Oceanographic Development to Inland Waters" (Defense Technical Information Center 1967). Later, Ropek was deputy director of the prediction division of the Naval Oceanographic Office. Late in life he lived
USS Sand Lance (SSN-660) Connecticut, where she became a member of Submarine Squadron 2. In 1996, the Sand Lance was sent on a patrol to the Arctic Circle. While there, the submarine surfaced through the polar ice cap at the North Pole on 12 July. "Sand Lance" was decommissioned on 7 August 1998 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register the same day. Her scrapping via the Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, began on 1 April 1998 and was completed on 30 August 1999. Sand Lance's Maneuvering Room Consoles, which were used to control the