USS La Jolla (SSN-701), a Los Angeles-class submarine, is named for La Jolla, California. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 10 December 1973 and her keel was laid down on 16 October 1976. She was launched on 11 August 1979 sponsored by Mrs. Bob Wilson, and commissioned on 24 October 1981, with Captain James R. Lang in command.
During the sea trials for the La Jolla, an incident where there was a loss of ship control and subsequent depth excursion led to the retirement of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover.
In late 1982, about 30 miles out of San Francisco, 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.
La Jolla was the first to successfully test fire a Tomahawk cruise missile while submerged at the Pacific Missile Test Center on 29 April 1983. Her commanding officer at the time was Cdr. Garnet C. Beard, who was later promoted to Navy Captain (O6). Capt. Beard appeared in the movie Crimson Tide, and was listed in the credits as a consultant to that film.
The first West Pacific (West-Pac) cruise was between September 1984 and March 1985, in which the La Jolla visited ports in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Chinhae Korea, and Yokosuka, Japan. All crew members participating in the second half of the 1984–85 West-Pac cruise received the Navy Expeditionary Medal for operations in the Sea of Japan.
On 11 February 1998, about 9 miles out of Chinhae, South Korea, La Jolla accidentally ran into and sank a 27-ton fishing trawler. The five crewmembers of the trawler were rescued by the crew of La Jolla.
In 2000, La Jolla was modified to carry a Dry Deck Shelter (DDS).
On 23 August 2004, La Jolla returned to Pearl Harbor after a six-month deployment in the Pacific Ocean. She conducted port visits in Korea, Japan, Singapore, Saipan, and Guam, and participated in five international exercises, including Pacific Reach 2004.
On 30 October 2009 while the sub was undergoing repair at Pearl Harbor, the ship's skipper, Commander Doug Sampson, was relieved of duty by Submarine Squadron 1 Commodore Captain Stanley Robertson. Robertson cited a "loss of confidence in his ability to command" and that "La Jolla's in-port planning, operations and administrations, which fell short of high Navy standards" as reasons for the relief. Sampson was replaced by Commander Erik Burian, former commanding officer of USS Los Angeles (SSN-688).
CDR P. J. Bernard is the current Commanding Officer.