Rear Admiral Scott Pappano
Program Executive Officer, Strategic Submarines U.S. Navy
Scott W. Pappano is a native of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a bachelor of science in Marine Engineering. He holds a masters in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He has served onboard the USS City of Corpus Christi, USS Albuquerque, USS Michigan, and USS Ohio. He commanded USS Buffalo while deployed in Guam. He has served in a number of commands, including in submarine development and nuclear power training, and served as the assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy and as executive assistant to the Director, Programming Division, of the Navy Staff.
Pappano served in the Special Operations Forces Mobility Office and as executive assistant to the commander of the Naval Sea Systems Command. He was assigned as Program Executive Officer, Strategic Submarines, in October 2021.
In the News…
A three-year extension of the life of five of the Navy’s oldest submarines is being considered. Rear Admiral Scott Pappano said that the Ohio-class nuclear ballistic missile subs, or SSBNs, would undergo repairs during an 18-month period to support the Navy’s nuclear contingency strategy.
The plan provides a bridge to the deployment of the first Columbia-class submarines, which will not begin to patrol until October 2030. Rear Admiral Pappano said, “The riskiest period for them is in the 2030s as Columbias come online and the Ohios go out.”
The rear admiral stated that the test program for the next naval strategic weapons will need to be tested on both submarine classes, which adds to timeline complications.
