Asheville was suspended at a depth of 400 feet, and held in position by four mooring buoys above. During this 36-hour period, the crew made phone calls with a line rigged though an electrical fitting. After the testing, the boat surfaced. Some of the crew members swam in the 50-degree waters of Behm Canal. Asheville returned to Pearl Harbor, at the end of August, 1999 and conducted a six-week upkeep period. At the end of October 1999, she returned to San Diego for three weeks where she completed final work-ups with the John C. Stennis CSG, including staged attacks on the ship. Asheville was the only ship in the Carrier Group that was not successfully boarded or attacked. Another part of this final work up included Naval Special Warfare, off the coast of California, when Asheville launched a BGM-109 Tomahawk Cruise Missile. After the launch, an F-14 Tomcat pilot took control of the missile. The missile flew to Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California, hitting the target perfectly. Asheville returned to Pearl Harbor at the end of November, 1999. She completed a six-week upkeep period, and made final preparations for her forthcoming deployment. 2000s On 11 January 2000, Asheville departed Pearl Harbor for a six-month WESTPAC Deployment. She was part of the John C. Stennis CSG. This Group included the carrier John C. Stennis, guided missile cruisers and , destroyer , guided missile destroyer , amphibious warfare ships and , guided missile frigate , fast combat support ship , and sister submarine . Asheville arrived in Yokosuka, Japan on 27 January 2000, in time for the crew to watch Super Bowl XXXIV. She departed Yokosuka, on 3 February, and arrived in Hong Kong on 8 February, sailing into Victoria Harbour along with the entire John C. Stennis Carrier Group. She was tied up alongside Lake Champlain for electric power. Asheville left Hong Kong on 12 February, and arrived in Singapore, on 17 February. On 21 February, she departed Singapore, and arrived in Manama, Bahrain on 7 March 2000. During this time Asheville completed a mission vital to National Security, the details of which remain classified. She left Bahrain that night after loading stores and became the first submarine to participate in Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO). On 18 March 2000 Asheville arrived in the free port of Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates. On 23 March, she left Jebel Ali and