BREMERTON — As sailors from the earliest days of the USS Ohio swapped stories as part of their first reunion on Thursday, the boat itself was preparing for its next deployment.

The Ohio, America's oldest working submarine, recently completed a $223 million overhaul at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Its mission today as a submarine that can fire guided missiles and deploy special forces is different than the one carried out by the 45 sailors who converged in Kitsap for a reunion this week.

"At the time it was a job," said Larry Sloan, a nuclear reactor operator who helped bring Ohio through the Panama Canal from where it was built in Connecticut to Bangor. "It wasn't until after I returned that I realized how incredible it was."

When it pulled into Puget Sound, some sailors recalled being met by protestors on the water that the Coast Guard had to push back to let the submarine through.

The Ohio was the first and the namesake class of 18 submarines armed with nuclear missiles — the biggest subs America has ever built — hence its nickname, "first and finest." As part of its original crew, Sloan is what is called a "plank owner," part of the team that commissioned it.

The submarine's most recent overhaul required 400,000 man-days of work by the ship's crew, contractors and the Ohio project team in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Work included preservation and structural work to the submarine's sail, superstructure and myriad tanks as well as repairs to the trim and drain, other seawater systems and to its propulsion plant equipment.

The Ohio is the oldest submarine still going out to sea. The USS Bremerton is technically the fleet's oldest sub, awaiting inactivation and decommissioning at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

When Sloan and others were aboard following its commissioning in 1981, the Ohio was a vanguard vessel built with a continuing mission of deterring nuclear war. The boat was launched with the capacity of 24 trident nuclear missiles, with each one capable of hitting eight different targets. Today, eight of country's fleet of 14 ballistic missile submarines, or "boomers" as they're often called, are homeported at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. Their patrols are stealthy but their mission is to ensure those who might want to inflict harm on the United States know that retaliation will be swift. The subs are also equipped with non-nuclear torpedoes.

At Bremerton's Horse & Cow Pub and Grill on Thursday, retired sailors recalled a brotherhood on board that was rekindled for the reunion.

"We were in our early 20s, operating this multibillion piece of hardware," said Bill Berko, an electronics technician stationed on Ohio from 1979 to 1983 who now works as a nurse at Seattle Children's Hospital. "I grew up with these people."

"The camaraderie and discipline carries on with you for the rest of your life," added Kenny James, a former sonar technician who's now a voice actor for characters including "Bowser" from the Super Mario Bros. series.

The retired submariners were surprised to see how modernized the vessels in the Ohio class had become in the more than 30 years since they served. Mike Cloutier, Ohio's strategic missile officer, was impressed after a tour of a Bangor-based SSBN this week. He noted the size of new record-keeping discs: "Everything has gotten much smaller," he said.

Conversely, things in Kitsap County have gotten bigger. Michael Pittinger, a former navigation supervisor on Ohio who moved to Pennsylvania following service, said submariners who haven't been to Kitsap County in some time were astonished at the growth.

Silverdale, once a "horse farm," was now a "concrete jungle," Pittinger said. In their time, "Bremerton was not a place you necessarily went to hang out," but today, "it has a vibrant small-town feel," he added.

Even when they left the submarine service, many, like Sloan, got jobs based on their Navy experience.

"You cannot get nuclear reactor training anywhere, better," said Sloan, now a reactor operator at the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania.

While it remained nuclear-powered, Ohio's mission changed in 2005 after it was revamped. Its nuclear missiles removed, the boomer was made capable of firing Tomahawk cruise missiles — up to 154 of them — as well as carrying special forces for delivery on secret missions. The move was made for reasons both political and strategic. The START II arms reduction treaty ultimately led to four of 18 ballistic missile subs — Ohio, USS Michigan, USS Georgia and the USS Florida — to be converted to non-nuclear guided-missile subs.

Bernie Strub, a nuclear machinists' mate on Ohio from 1980 to 1984 who helped organize the reunion, ended up going through a machinery repair apprenticeship at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard — and helping convert his former boat to a guided-missile platform.

"It was very emotional for me," Strub said. "All the memories came rushing back."

The Florida and Georgia call Kings Bay, Georgia, home while the Ohio and Michigan, which just entered the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on a $195 million makeover — are based at Naval Base-Kitsap.

In 2012, Ohio became the first submarine to station a woman aboard when Lt. Britta Christianson was assigned to its Gold crew.

The Ohio and Michigan have in the past acted as forward-deployed vessels in Guam, an area of increasing strategic importance.

It will continue its important role as it hits its 38th birthday in November.

“Ohio plays a vital role in America’s defense, and we’ve returned it to the fleet, ready to do whatever our nation requires of it," Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Commander Dianna Wolfson said. "We can all take great pride in the work our team did for the ship, and we wish her and the crew well as they rejoin our naval forces on patrol.”

USS Ohio

Commissioned: Nov. 11, 1981

Arrived at Bangor: Aug. 12, 1982

Motto: "Always First"

Nickname: "First and Finest"

Length: 560 feet

Beam: 42 feet

Speed: 23 mph

Crew: 15 officers, 140 enlisted

Current armament: 22 tubes, each with seven Tomahawk missiles

This story has been changed since it was published to clarify that the USS Ohio is the oldest submarine still going out to sea as the USS Bremerton awaits inactivation at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.