"The USS Greeneville Rising," a new documentary on the USS Greeneville, was broadcast for the first time Thursday night by 11 Connects WJHL-TV, and won rave reviews from a number of local citizens very familiar with the 21-year history of the fast-attack nuclear submarine named for this community.

A group of some 50-60 Greenevillians, some of them members of USS Greeneville, Inc., the local support group for the crew of the submarine, gathered informally in a ballroom area of the General Morgan Inn at 7 p.m. Thursday for the initial broadcast.

Among those on hand for the broadcast on a 12'-by-12' screen was Jack D. Dempsey, of Johnson City, general manager of WJHL.

In brief remarks prior to the broadcast, Dempsey noted that the station had initially conceived of the update on the nuclear submarine three years ago but was not able to win approval to proceed from the U.S. Navy for some time.

Finally, he said, Navy approval was given, and a crew from WJHL consisting of 11 Connects anchor Josh Smith and digital photographer Phillip Murrell traveled in January to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where the Greeneville is homeported.

The Navy gave the crew virtually unprecedented photographic access to the submarine during two days at sea, with Smith and Murrell on board.

(Back in Johnson City, Stacey Amos of WJHL assisted in the extensive editing of the footage shot by the crew, and created all of the graphics.)

Also on board the submarine, and assisting in the project, he noted, was Dale Long, of Greeneville, president of USS Greeneville, Inc., who has over the years maintained a close relationship with the successive commanders and crews of the submarine.

In brief welcoming remarks, Long expressed strong appreciation to Dempsey and WJHL for the work and expense involved in producing the documentary.

He added to those present, "Enjoy the program! This is your boat."

Dempsey then spoke briefly, and noted that The Greeneville Sun had given strong support and assistance in the research for the documentary.

The program featured historical background on the naming of the submarine for Greeneville in the fall of 1989, after an intensive grassroots campaign involving not only Greeneville/Greene County but supporters throughout Northeast Tennessee and the state.

The campaign had been launched in August after Long had come up with the idea that the submarine -- the next-to-last of 62 Los Angeles-class fast-attack nuclear submarines the Navy was producing -- could be named for this community.

At the time, Long was a key manufacturing supervisor with Greeneville Industries, Inc., a local subsidiary of Newport News Shipbuilding Co., of Newport News, Va., which was building submarines and other ships for the Navy.

He first asked about the possibility that the submarine could be named for this community, rather than for the larger cities for which major Navy ships have usually been named, in a conversation with Bob Herndon, then the plant manager of Greeneville Industries, Inc.

The idea was endorsed by then-Greeneville Mayor G. Thomas Love and several other local leaders, then by then-1st District U.S. Rep. James H. "Jimmy" Quillen, who provided vital assistance in the three-month campaign to convince the U.S. Secretary of the Navy to select Greeneville as the name for the new submarine then in production.

The submarine, officially SSN 772, was christened in mid-September 1994, and commissioned for duty in February 1996.

It is now preparing for its sixth deployment, scheduled to begin in the fall in the western Pacific region of the world. The exact timing and mission are, as always, classified information.

In the new documentary, Smith and Murrell provide extensive and unprecedented footage of life on board the submarine, as well numerous interviews with Cmdr. Anthony C. Cerullo, the commanding officer, and many members of the crew.

The documentary also includes recollections of the early days of the submarine's story in interviews with Long, Mayor Love, Billy "Cotton" Guthrie, Sun Co-publisher Gregg Jones, Wayne Bettis, first president of USS Greeneville, Inc., retired U.S. Navy Capt. Sam Doak, and Tusculum President Dr. Nancy Moody.

Among those present at the informal gathering -- which came together after the General Morgan Inn notified Long on Monday night that the space could be available for the screening if there was interest -- was Greene County Mayor Alan Broyles.

Mayor Broyles was county executive (later county mayor) during the early period of the submarine's history and was present in Norfolk, Va., for both the christening and the commissioning of the submarine.

Afterwards, he was full of praise for the documentary, as were all of the others in the gathering, which responded to the documentary with strong applause.

Another of those present was Debbie Rodefer Cornelius, a daughter of the late Bob Rodefer, second president of USS Greeneville, Inc., and a key leader in the organization until his death in 2009.

After the broadcast, Cornelius announced that she would purchase 140 DVDs of the documentary -- one for each member of the current USS Greeneville crew -- in memory of her father.

A number of others present Thursday night had actually visited the submarine at various times and, in many cases, lodged crew members at their homes here during visits by the crew members over the years.

Sun Editor John M. Jones Jr. was one of several of those present who spoke briefly afterwards, congratulating Dempsey and WJHL on the excellence of the production and the portrayal of both the submarine and the community itself.

Long expressed thanks today to the General Morgan Inn and its staff for providing the area for the broadcast gathering and making food and beverages available for purchase by those who wanted them.

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(DVDs of the program, supplemented with additional material and photos, are expected to be available for purchase in about two weeks.

The DVDs are still being completed by WJHL, as the supplementary material is added to the documentary itself, but they can be ordered in advance through the Sun's Internet Web site, GreenevilleSun.com/submarine, for $20, including shipping and handling.

Those wishing to order the DVDs are asked to go to the Web site and leave their name, telephone number, and email address. When the DVDs are ready, those who leave information will be contacted, according to Long.

All profits from the sales will go to USS Greeneville, Inc., for its continuing work in support of the submarine crew and the relationship between the crew and the community.)