The USS New Jersey, a Virginia-class submarine designed from conception to operate with a fully integrated male and female crew, officially joined the US Navy fleet. A commissioning ceremony was held at Naval Weapons Station Earle in New Jersey-the moment at which this submarine went into active service after eight years of construction.
Vice Adm. Robert Gaucher, commander of Submarine Forces Atlantic, exulted that today’s submarine force is a fully gender-integrated warfighting force. He said all future nuclear-powered attack submarines and new Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines would be designed to be gender-neutral from the keel up.
The USS New Jersey, the 23rd Virginia-class submarine, is a big milestone in the Navy’s push to host mixed-gender crews. Everything from the height of the overhead valves to the privacy of washrooms and berths was modified in its construction and design to accommodate both male and female sailors.
Since the ban on women serving aboard US submarines was lifted in 2010, the Navy has been working on retrofitting and reorganizing vessels for co-ed use. As of 2023, there were 609 women assigned to operational submarines. Of their total number of submarines, it will be increased with a co-ed crew from 30 to 40, the Navy intends.
Lieutenant Commanders Andrea Howard and Emma McCarthy discussed the challenges of integrating women on ships first designed for males only. The space is confined, they said, and bathroom and berth spaces often don’t align with the makeup of the crew. Another factor was that the culture in the workplace needed to change, from people who treated women just like other members to people who made it awkward and even actively subverted.
The arrival of the USS New Jersey was nothing if not a dramatic affair-the submarine passed Sandy Hook and pulled into the bay side of Naval Weapons Station Earle. Middletown Mayor Tony Perry seemed proud to host the commissioning ceremony, noting both the town and the Navy were witnessing history.
Before the commissioning, the crew of the USS New Jersey had attended a ceremony and dinner aboard the Battleship New Jersey nation’s most decorated battleship. It gave them a chance to get to know the veterans from the battleship, thus putting a sense of continuity into the new submarine crew.
Commander Steven Halle, the Commanding Officer of the USS New Jersey said that we were ready to take her out. Halle said that dinner aboard the Battleship New Jersey was much more than a meal for the crew; it was a learning experience.
The USS New Jersey is the third naval vessel to bear the name of the State of New Jersey. It has a submarine foreground with the battleship Iowa-class Battleship New Jersey in the background, reflecting the motto “Virtute Ignis Pro Libertas” or “Firepower for Freedom.”