Prepare to meet the third Navy vessel to carry the name of the Garden State.
The first was a World War I-era battleship commissioned in 1906. It was decommissioned a few years after the “War to End All Wars” and sunk off Cape Hatteras in 1923 as a target in a bombing practice.
The second was the World War II-era battleship that became the most decorated battleship in the nation’s history. It is now docked at the Camden waterfront as a memorial and museum.
A look at the USS New Jersey
The USS New Jersey is the Navy’s newest fast attack submarine.
- Named: March 25, 2015
- Christened: Nov. 13, 2021
- Commissioning: Sept. 14
- Length: 377 feet
- Displacement: 7,800 tons
- Speed: 25 knots
- Power: SG9 nuclear reactor, which provides both propulsion power and electricity
- Weapons: BGM-109 Tomahawk missiles, Mk48 torpedoes
The third vessel to be called the USS New Jersey is the Navy’s newest fast attack, nuclear-powered submarine, and it will be commissioned for active duty Sept. 14 at Naval Weapons Station Earle in Monmouth County.
Commissioning is considered by the Navy the most sacred of the four events associated with the launching of a new vessel, according to Peter Engelman, a member of the USS New Jersey Commissioning Committee and a veteran of five years in the Navy.
The first event is the naming of the vessel, second is the laying of the ship’s keel, the third is the christening (where a bottle is broken over the bow as a sign of good luck) and the fourth event is the commissioning.
The ship’s name was announced May 25, 2015, and the christening took place Nov. 13, 2021.
“The commissioning is considered the biggest and the most sacred of the events,” explained Engelman, “because it is equivalent to the birth of the ship. This makes it an active member of the fleet.”
A breakfast will precede the commissioning ceremony, and a luncheon and reception will follow. All these events require a ticket to attend. No further requests for tickets are being honored.
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The USS New Jersey Commissioning Committee has planned more than a week’s worth of events to celebrate the commissioning. Members of the USS New Jersey submarine crew will participate in most of them.
About Naval Weapons Station Earle
The 12,000-acre Navy base located in Monmouth County has two sections:
- The Mainside: Located in Colt’s Neck
- The Waterfront: Located in the Leonardo section of Middletown Township. The waterfront includes a pier almost 3 miles in length, which extends into Sandy Hook Bay. This allows ammunition to be loaded or unloaded from ships at a safe distance from populated areas.
“It’s about bringing these sailors to New Jersey and giving them a dose of Jersey hospitality,” said Marshall Spevak, another member of the Commissioning Committee and the CEO of the Battleship New Jersey Memorial and Museum.
Among the events planned are a welcome reception Sept. 9 at VFW Post 2179 in Monmouth County, and a Sept. 10 reception and dinner on the Battleship New Jersey, where about 100 members of the submarine crew can mingle with the veterans who served on the battleship.
The New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Museum will host a contingent of sailors Sept. 10 for a luncheon and a tour of the facility.
Some members of the crew will visit the Statue of Liberty while others attend a Rutgers University football game. Members of the submarine crew will also engage in community engagement activities and attend various 9/11 memorials ceremonies.
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The USS New Jersey submarine crew will consist of 15 officers, 15 chief petty officers and 110 crew, led by Cmdr. Steven Halle, an Illinois native.
Notably, the USS New Jersey is the first Navy vessel to have separate quarters for men and women. The crew currently includes 40 females.
The submarine underwent sea trials in the spring where, in Navy vernacular, “She was tested for leaks.” In reality, the sub was put through its operational paces and weapons testing.
The size and speed of the USS New Jersey submarine is impressive, but not the most significant attribute, according to Engelman, who was trained in the Navy’s nuclear power program and served in the submarine fleet aboard the USS Sea Dragon.
“Subs don’t care about being fast,” said Engelman. “The faster they go, the more noise they make. They care about being quiet.”
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Engelman noted there will be one very special guest among the military, political and business dignitaries at the commissioning ceremony — namely the “Sponsor of the Boat.” This is traditionally a woman, usually one associated with the Navy or a government organization. She is considered the symbolic “Mother of the Ship.”
In the case of the USS New Jersey submarine, the “Sponsor of the Boat” is Dr. Susan DiMarco, a Montclair resident and retired dentist who has served on the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts for the Kennedy Center, and sits on the boards of the Montclair Arts Museum, the Mental Health Association of Essex County and the Montclair Development Corp.
She is also the wife of Jeh Johnson, a former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security during President Barack Obama’s administration.
DiMarco christened the ship almost three years ago at a ceremony in Newport News, Virginia. At the end of Saturday’s commissioning ceremony, it is DiMarco who will give the traditional first order to the crew to “man the boat and bring her to life.”
NJ Bankers donates $25K
As part of the commissioning ceremony for the USS New Jersey, which will take place on Sept. 14 at Naval Weapons Station Earle in Monmouth County, the New Jersey Bankers Association Charitable Foundation has donated $25,000 to support scholarships for the crew and families of the USS New Jersey.
The NJBankers Charitable Foundation provides scholarship assistance to service members and their families, enabling them to pursue and complete their college degrees.
“NJ Bankers Charitable Foundation has been supporting veteran education programs in New Jersey for nearly 20 years, and we are honored to be part of the commissioning events for the USS New Jersey. This donation aligns perfectly with the mission of our Charitable Foundation, supporting those who have given — and continue to give — so much to our country,” NJ Bankers CEO and President Mike Affuso said.
