Letter from the Commissioning Committee
November 2023 Newsletter
Greetings,
With five months remaining until the commissioning of the attack submarine USS NEW JERSEY (SSN 796), we both cheer eagerly anticipated details of the event, and pause in reflection of Naval history.
Recently, the Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Carlos Del Toro, announced the official date and location for the Commissioning as April 6, 2024, at Naval Weapons Station Earle, located in Monmouth County, New Jersey (the long pier in Sandy Hook Bay). After months of working with the US Navy through their site-selection process, we are delighted to have final confirmation that The State of New Jersey will have the rare honor of hosting the commissioning for a vessel that bears that State’s namesake.
In October, we celebrated the 248th birthday of the US Navy, which began with the purchase of four ships in Philadelphia in 1775, growing to over 291 battle force ships in present day, and soon to be joined by the USS NEW JERSEY (SSN 796). Over the US Navy’s history, two other ships have previously been named USS NEW JERSEY, both battleships – BB 16 and BB 62, currently moored as a museum at Camden, NJ.
In a few days, we will also observe the 105th anniversary of the Armistice that ended the Great War on November 11th, 1918, and hold solemn remembrance for the nearly 10 million uniformed personnel and equal number of civilians who perished during this global conflict.
While thoughts of World War I conjure images of trench warfare and the introduction of tanks in Europe, on the high seas, it was the submarine that proved to be the technological advancement of that era that would most profoundly shape the future of Naval warfare. Since then, submarines have evolved to become instruments of science in addition to their role as formidable weapons. They perform a variety of missions, including humanitarian tasking, and serve as a vital component of America’s global maritime strategy.
It is with this understanding of the past, that we marvel at our present, and look forward to the day when USS NEW JERSEY (SSN 796), joins the fleet and takes her place in America’s arsenal and writes her own chapter in US Naval History.