‘Namesake’ Visit to NJ Starts on the BB62

[Camden, NJ April 2, 2023] As usual we kicked off our most recent crew visit from the USS NEW JERSEY (SSN 796) with a visit to the prior USS NEW JERSEY, the Battleship New Jersey (BB 62). It’s a tradition now that the visiting crewmembers sign a banner to show they’ve visited the battleship. Pictured below are two of the first female enlisted personnel to visit as part of these events.

Some of the rest of the crew having just driven up from Virginia to begin their ‘namesake’ visit to NJ.

The submarine has only recently begun to receive female enlisted crew members to join their ranks. The NEW JERSEY is the first in her class of submarines to be designed and built with the intent of supporting a fully integrated male/female crew. This allows the Navy to widen the pool of talented individuals that they can assign to our nation’s submarines.

Thank you to the Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial for hosting several of the crew of the newest USS NEW JERSEY (SSN 796). Special thanks to Jack Willard for hosting and Timi Lindsay and Joe Lario for being there to welcome the crew! Eight members of the crew are visiting New Jersey this week on a namesake visit to continue to build a strong relationship between the boat and its namesake, the State of New Jersey, including Commanding Officer Steven Halle, STSCM Hamilton Felt – Chief of the Boat, ENS Lillian Baker, ETN2 Joy Shirey, STS2 Kenny Ortega, MMN3 Kianna Gonzales, LSSA Ocean Bouck, and FTSR Amelia Fast.