In late 1982, about 30 miles out of San Francisco, California, USS La Jolla, while at periscope depth, collided with Permit (SSN 594), operating on the surface. La Jolla suffered minor rudder damage, while putting a ten-foot (3 m) long, three-foot (1 m) wide scrape in the paint on Permit’s keel.

April 29, 1983 USS La Jolla was the first to successfully test fire a Tomahawk cruise missile while submerged at the Pacific Missile Test Center.

February 11, 1998 While approaching the port of Chinhae, South Korea, the crew of La Jolla overlooked a fishing trawler (27 tons) and both vessels collided. The trawler sank. The five crewmembers of the trawler were rescued by the submarine crew.

As of December 2000, SSN 701 is homeported in Naval Station Pearl Harbor. The submarine was previously homeported in San Diego, Calif., and after a two-year overhaul in Kittery, Maine, shifted homeport to Hawaii where she is now attached to Submarine Squadron One.

April 25, 2002 USS La Jolla underway from Sasebo, Japan, to participate in the submarine rescue Exercise Pacific Reach 2002. Participating units included surface ships and submarines from United States, Japan, Australia, Republic of Korea and Republic of Singapore.

February 23, 2004 USS La Jolla, commanded by Cmdr. Brian T. Howes, departed Pearl Harbor for a scheduled western Pacific deployment in support of the Global War on Terrorism. The submarine is equipped with the Special Operations capable Dry Deck Shelter (DDS), which can allow special operation forces including Navy SEALs (Sea, Air, Land) to deploy undetected from deployed submarines.

August 23, SSN 701 returned to homeport after completing a six-month deployment. During the underway period, the nuclear attack submarine traveled more than 34,000 nautical miles, equivalent to circling the globe three times. The La Jolla conducted 11 port visits including Korea, Japan, Singapore, Saipan and Guam, and participated in five international exercises, including the multinational submarine rescue exercise Pacific Reach 2004 and operations in support of Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet.

January 6, 2006 The winners of the 2005 Battle Efficiency Awards (Battle “E”) for the Pacific Fleet Submarine Force were announced. Three nuclear-powered attack submarines homeported in Pearl Harbor were among the submarines selected for the award. They include USS La Jolla, Submarine Squadron One; USS Columbia (SSN 771), Submarine Squadron Three; and USS Cheyenne (SSN 773), Submarine Squadron Seven. On Jan. 5, Capt. Michael Zieser, Commodore, Submarine Squadron One, presented the Battle “E” award to Cmdr. Nelson Hildreth, USS La Jolla’s commanding officer.

May 16, USS La Jolla departed Naval Station Pearl Harbor for a six-month western Pacific deployment. She is one of three specially configured attack submarines equipped with the Special Operations-capable Dry Deck Shelter, which can allow special operations forces including Navy SEALs to deploy undetected from deployed submarines. The other DDS-capable submarines are USS Buffalo (SSN 715) and USS Los Angeles (SSN 688).

October 7, SSN 701 recently arrived in Hong Kong for a scheduled port call.

April 3, 2008 USS La Jolla departed homeport for a scheduled western Pacific deployment.

April 14, The Los Angeles-class attack submarine pulled to Yokosuka, Japan, for a routine port visit.

October 3, USS La Jolla returned to Pearl Harbor after a six-month underway period. She also visited Guam, Sasebo, Japan and Singapore.

October 30, 2009 Capt. Stanley Robertson, commodore of Submarine Squadron One, relieved Cmdr. Doug Sampson of his duty as CO of the La Jolla because of a loss of confidence in his ability to command. Cmdr. Erik Burian has assumed command of the ship. The submarine is currently in Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for maintenance in anticipation of its decommissioning at a date to be determined.