Commissioning Date and Location are Official!

The Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, has officially announced that the Virginia-class fast attack submarine NEW JERSEY (SSN 796) will be commissioned in New Jersey at the pier of Naval Weapons Station Earle on April 6th, 2024. We will be providing a mechanism for requesting tickets to the Read More

Crew and Committee Visit NJ Air National Guard

Crew members from the USS NEW JERSEY (SSN 796) visited the 177th Fighter Wing, NJANG located at the Atlantic City International Airport in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. The visit took place in August towards the end of our last ‘namesake visit’ where we bring crew members to New Jersey. Hosted Read More

SSN-796 Visits BB-62 to Round Out Another Great Namesake Visit

As with every crew visit to New Jersey we try to ensure a tour of the Battleship New Jersey (BB-62) is included. This time was no exception and the crew members from the new USS NEW JERSEY (SSN-796) visited and got the great welcome they always receive. And another ‘tradition’ Read More

Atlantic City Airshow 2023

We spent a long day on the boardwalk in Atlantic City letting everyone know about the new US Navy submarine USS NEW JERSEY (SSN 796). The sailors were great ambassadors greeting people, shaking hands, getting photos with anyone who asked. I did my best to get a photo of the Read More

George Goldhoff, President of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City

While the crew of the USS NEW JERSEY (SSN 796) were in town earlier this month, we had the pleasure of meeting George Goldhoff, President of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.  Mr Goldhoff shared the Hard Rock story with us and the motto on which the company is founded, “Love Read More

Crew and Committee Members Visit the EHT Police Activities League

Crew members of the USS NEW JERSEY (SSN 796), including Chief of the Boat, Winfred Cameron, visited the EHT Police Activities League last week while they were in NJ as part of the Commissioning Committee’s namesake program. Accompanied by Ocean First Foundation’s Executive Director, Kathy Durante, and Vice President of Commercial Lending, Jeff Ropiecki, Hector Read More

Crew and Committee Visit  the Millville Army Air Field Museum

Big shout out and heartfelt thank you to Lisa Jester and Steve Graham from the Millville Army Air Field Museum, Barry Smith from Smith & Jackson Military Antiques and Firearms, and Jen and Paul Simmons from Glasstown Brewery who hosted crew members of USS NEW JERSEY (SSN 796) for a museum tour and Read More

Crew and Committee Visit the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City

On PCU NEW JERSEY (SSN 796)’s recent namesake visit to New Jersey, the crew visited the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City. We were able to tour the facility and see the great work Dr. Charles A. Wallace II, CNED and his team are doing with some of the young people of Atlantic Read More

New Jersey State Police Host Dinner for Crew and Committee

Several crew members of PCU NEW JERSEY (SSN 796) are in New Jersey this week as part of the Commissioning Committee’s namesake visit initiative.  On August 15th 2023, Troop Commander Major Michael A. Krzyzkowski of the New Jersey State Police hosted dinner for the group at Killarney’s Publick House in Hamilton, NJ.  Read More

Meet & Greet with Members of the Crew

Tuesday, August 15th – Meet & Greet with members of the crew of the USS NEW JERSEY (SSN 796) at the Millville Army Air Field Museum in Millville, NJ. The Chief of the Boat, STSCM Winfred Cameron, along with other crew members and members of the USS NEW JERSEY Commissioning Committee, will Read More

‘First Meal’ Aboard the PCU NEW JERSEY

On Friday June 30th commissioning committee members Stephen Hutton, Peter Engelman, Julianne Dobs, and Timi Lindsay, were honored to be allowed to join the command and crew of the PCU NEW JERSEY (SSN 796) as they celebrated the first meal aboard the boat. This is a significant milestone in bringing Read More

Elizabeth Celebrates the Birthplace of the US Navy’s Submarine Force

In early April we celebrated Elizabeth NJ as the birthplace of the US Navy’s Submarine force – the city where the first commissioned US Navy submarine was built – the USS Holland (SS-1) – launched 1897 and commissioned in October of 1900. We spent several days in and around Elizabeth, Read More

Elizabeth Week Kicks Off!

[Elizabeth, NJ – April 3rd, 2023] The crew of the USS NEW JERSEY (SSN 796) visited the ELIZABETH PUBLIC SCHOOLS and the City of Elizabeth as part of a namesake visit to the State of New Jersey to further the relationships between the boat and its namesake, the state of New Jersey, and to raise awareness Read More

Mayor Bollwage’s ‘Our City’ Event for Elizabeth. NJ

Thanks to Mayor Bollwage of the City of Elizabeth, NJ for hosting a Q&A with Commander Steven Halle (CO of the submarine PCU NEW JERSEY), and Stephen Hutton, Chairman of the Commissioning Committee. We explained the purpose of a commissioning committee, and shared information about life aboard a submarine. We Read More

STEM Merit Badge Fair

The USS NEW JERSEY(SSN796) Commissioning Committee partnered with Boy Scouts of America to host a STEM Merit Badge Fair where nearly 200 Scouts from across New Jersey learned about topics like Nuclear Science, Chemistry, Oceanography, Digital Technology and Computer Programming. The event was organized by Monmouth Council’s Middlesex District and took Read More

Boy Scout Breakfast on BB62

The crew of the USS NEW JERSEY (SSN 796) had breakfast with the Boy Scouts aboard the Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial on Sunday. As part of this namesake visit, the crew were able to talk with the Scouts and their parents about the building and testing of the newest Virginia-class submarine Read More

Committee Presents to Veterans Group at ‘Renaissance at Manchester’

On October 3rd, 2022 Stephen Hutton and John Koehr made a presentation to the veterans group at ‘Renaissance’, a 55+ community facility in Manchester Township, NJ. The group were really engaged and asked some great questions. Despite the weather (it was raining) we were delighted to see a large turnout Read More

Committee Presents to Rotary Club of Morris Plains

This morning committee members Paul Blodgett and Stephen Hutton had the opportunity and privilege to make a presentation to the Rotary Club of Morris Plains describing our mission and informing about the future addition to the submarine fleet: the USS New Jersey (SSN 796). The presentation was well received and Read More

August Namesake Visit – Camden and Philadelphia

On Sunday the 29th of August, the crew was given a tour of the Battleship New Jersey BB-62 and observed CPO Initiation Ceremony conducted onboard the battleship. After an outstanding tour, the crew was hosted by the Iron Worker Union Local 12698 at tailgate and Phillies versus Pirates baseball game. Read More

USS New Jersey Visits 177th Fighter Wing

The following day after the Atlantic City Air Show the committee and crew members visiting from the USS New Jersey were granted the chance to visit the 177th Fighter Wing, NJ Air National Guard. Big thank you to committee trustee Marshall Spevak for organizing the visit! Joining Marshall, were committee Read More

A Great Day For An Air Show!

Weather was a little on the warm side but the sky was clear and just right for the Atlantic City Air Show on August 24th. The committee got to the boardwalk a little early, with Steve Hutton making the delivery of our tent, table, weights, and giveaways and Joe Velez Read More

Reception for Atlantic City Air Show

On Tuesday August 23rd the visiting sailors from the USS New Jersey, along with members of the commissioning committee were invited by the Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce to attend a reception being given primarily for military participants in the upcoming Air Show. Principal among the attendees were the pilots Read More

Atlantic City Airshow

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2022 | ATLANTIC CITY, NJ We’ll be there, will you? Premium seating: https://airshow.acchamber.com/premium-viewing-areas/ Performers: https://airshow.acchamber.com/performers/ Social Media: INSTAGRAM- https://www.instagram.com/airshowac/?hl=en  FACEBOOK- https://www.facebook.com/AirshowACTWITTER- https://twitter.com/AcAirshow

SubFest is Almost Here!

A festival to show support for our newest US Navy warship named after the great state of NEW JERSEY! The USS New Jersey (SSN 796) A music and food festival featuring the Bon Jovi tribute band “Slippery When Wet” who will be performing on stage this coming June 18th at Read More

Trenton Navy Week – Part 6 – Saturday May 7th

Today consisted of tours of the Battleship New Jersey (BB-62) for crew members and setting up displays in the officers’ wardroom to showcase the submarine, the commissioning committee, and US Navy recruiting. Several tours went through the battleship and visitors stopped by to meet the sailors. The weather was horrendous Read More

Trenton Navy Week – Part 4 – Thursday May 5th

Today we switched out crew members, bringing new sailors up from VA while the original ones headed back to the submarine and shipyard. The XO remained for continuity and oversight to ensure things continued smoothly. While six sailors joined the Navy Week activities at a ‘rescue mission’ in Trenton, the Read More

Trenton Navy Week – Part 3 – Wednesday May 4th

Our originally scheduled school visit had to be cancelled due to some issues getting sufficient youngsters to attend. The 12 PCU New Jersey crew members instead joined the rest of the Navy Week sailors at a cleanup operation at Alberta Woods Park in Camden, NJ. Our own committee member (recently Read More

Trenton Navy Week – Part 2 – Tuesday May 3rd

Our committee’s portion of Navy Week (which we’re supplementing with additional crew members as a ‘namesake visit’) kicked off with a visit to the major defense contractor L3Harris in Trenton, NJ. https://www.l3harris.com/ The folks at L3Harris really rolled out the red carpet and gave us an extensive tour allowing crew Read More

Navy Week In New Jersey

‘Navy Week’ is coming to Trenton and the surrounding area the week of May 2nd and crew members from the New Jersey will be joining. The committee has managed to double the number of attendees from the submarine and will be combining Navy Week with our own activities to create Read More

SUBFEST – Coming June 18th, 2022!

Join us to meet and celebrate crew members of the new Virginia-class submarine THE USS NEW JERSEY! She’s currently wrapping up construction and will be joining the fleet next year. Meanwhile we’re bringing her crew to her namesake state to join the Jersey family and get to know us while Read More

Trenton Fleet Week

The crew of the NJY intends to maximize its support for Trenton Fleet Week 2-8 May.  We look forward to seeing a large portion of the crew attend several events and continue to better get to know its namesake state!

A Great Second ‘Namesake Visit’

Crew members visited New Jersey this past weekend for the second of our ‘namesake visits’ where we introduce the crew to NJ and NJ to the crew. Each visit is intended to highlight aspect of New Jersey’s history, economy, and culture and to let as many people in NJ as Read More

USS New Jersey Christening

On a windy but sunny Saturday in Virginia, the USS New Jersey was christened! A major milestone in the life of a US Navy vessel is the christening. In this case it was an opportunity to officially name the USS New Jersey and also recognize and honor the men and Read More

Montgomery/Rocky Hill Rotary Club

Committee Chairman, Stephen Hutton, met with the Rotary Club of Montgomery/Rocky Hill to present information about the submarine USS New Jersey (SSN-796) and the commissioning committee’s goal and objectives. The audience were very engaged and had lots of questions about the boat and it’s crew. Thanks to Paul Blodgett for Read More

Our First Namesake Visit

On October 1st six crew members visited NJ as part of an ongoing series of ‘namesake’ visits designed to build a lasting relationship between the new submarine and the state of New Jersey. Day 1 After driving up from Virginia the sailors gave a brief presentation and conducted a Q&A Read More

Committee Visit To Newport News

On August 19th several committee members travelled to Hampton Roads Navy base in Virginia to present sailor the year awards We also met the incoming CO to discuss *namesake visits and other activities the committee will be involved in with the crew of the boat. More details and photos to Read More

Raritan Bay Power Squadron Event 6/26/2021

Thanks to the RBPS for inviting us to speak at their annual picnic event at the John C. Bartlett, Jr. County Park at Berkeley Island this past weekend. We appreciate the opportunity afforded us to present information about the PCU New Jersey*. The Colors, Pledge of Allegiance, and Introductions The Read More

Sailor of the Year for 2019

At this year’s installation dinner for the Central Jersey Council of the Navy League of the United States the commissioning committee honored the submarine’s ‘Sailor of the Quarter’. This was the first occasion that the committee joined with the Navy League to present an award to the submarine’s sailor of Read More

Dinner at Harolds

On January 24th, 2020 the CO, XO, COB and several family members sharing dinner with committee members at Harolds in Edison NJ.

1st Meeting With Senior Staff From The Boat

The Commanding Officer, CDR Joseph (Joe) Spinks; Executive Officer, LCDR Phil Jones; and Chief of the Boat, STSCS(SS) Hamilton T. Felt joined with committee members for an introductory dinner in New Brunswick at Old Man Rafferty’s on Thursday November 7th. This was a great start to what we hope will Read More

The Battleship Welcomes the CO and Chief Of the Boat

The Battleship welcomed CDR Joseph M. Spinks, Commanding Officer, and STSCS(SS) Hamilton T. Felt, Chief of the Boat, PCU New Jersey (SSN 796) The PCU New Jersey is a Virginia-class submarine, currently under construction in Newport News, Virginia. For more information about the visit and the Battleship New Jersey visit Read More

Name of New Submarine USS New Jersey Officially Announced

On May 24th 2015, during a Memorial Day ceremony at Liberty State Park, then-Navy Secretary Ray Mabus officially announced that the USS New Jersey will be the name of a new Virginia-class submarine. Our council were honored to be invited to attend and meet SECNAV Mabus as well as to Read More