Navy commissions USS New Jersey, the service’s first submarine designed for women crew members

The USS New Jersey, the first fast-attack Virginia-class submarine in the Navy to fully integrate mixed gender crews, was commissioned in a traditional ceremony on Saturday at Naval Weapons Station Earle in Middletown, N.J., according to a service news release. New Jersey’s commanding officer Cmdr. Steve Halle called the commissioning “a truly historic moment” during the ceremony. “Our superior professionalism is enhanced by our crew integration and our diversity,” Halle said of his crew being the first fully integrated fast-attack submarine. “We have exceeded expectations at every turn and overcome every obstacle set before us.”

In the past five years, the Navy has seen the number of women in the submarine force double and triple, according to Vice Adm. Robert Gaucher, commander of Submarine Forces Atlantic. The New Jersey was designed with specific modifications to accommodate women submariners.

Some of the new submarine modifications include more doors and washrooms to create separate sleeping and bathing areas, lowering some overhead valves and making them easier to turn and installing steps in front of the triple-high bunk beds and stacked laundry machines. The submarine is 377 feet long, has a 34-foot beam and is able to dive to depths greater than 800 feet and operate at speeds in excess of 25 knots. It has a crew of nearly 135 Navy personnel. It is designed to excel in anti-submarine warfare, anti-ship warfare, strike warfare, special operations, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, irregular warfare and mine warfare. “Today, we commissioned our ship, and she is the fastest, most advanced, fully integrated fast-attack to date,” Halle said.

Resource: Stars and Stripes