The Virginia-class submarine to become part of the U.S. Navy fleet at Groton, Connecticut ceremony.
(Des Moines, Iowa) – The new Virginia-Class attack submarine USS IOWA (SSN-797) is set to be formally commissioned Saturday, April 5 at the Naval Submarine Base New
London in Groton, Connecticut.
Naval, civic, and elected officials will speak at the event which will be held pier side and in front of an estimated two thousand attendees.
The event is open to the public, however ticketing is required and strictly controlled by the US NAVY. Please visit www.SSN797.com for more information regarding attending
the commissioning ceremony.
The ceremony is a joint effort of the US NAVY and the Commissioning Committee, a national network of supporters aligned with a common vision and goal: To raise broad
awareness and generate support for the commissioning of the nuclear submarine bearing the proud name IOWA.
The mission of the commissioning committee is to generate the funds necessary to provide upgrades for the crew, including habitability, recreation sports equipment, and
other items not funded by federal appropriations. The ship’s sponsor, Christie Vilsack, former Iowa first lady, will also attend.
USS IOWA will be the 24 th Virginia-class submarine that will eventually total 38 submarines, most of which are named for states.
“The commissioning ceremony is the most important event in the building and activation of a Navy vessel,” said Capt. Doug MacCrea USN (Retired), chairman of the USS
IOWA Commissioning Committee. “This marks the moment the USS Iowa becomes an active part of the fleet. During the ceremony the ship’s Captain will give the order to
‘Man the ship and bring her to life’ and that is when the ship officially becomes the USS Iowa.”
Commissioning is the fifth and final major event in the life a ship as she becomes a U.S. fighting vessel.
The first event was the naming of the submarine by then Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus on the campus of Iowa State University in September 2015. The second event
was the keel-laying that marks the official beginning of the construction. This event was held in North Kingstown, Rhode Island in 2019 and was highlighted as shipwrights
welded Christie Vilsack’s initials onto the metal hull of the ship.
The third milestone was the Christening event at which the name IOWA and the submarine are officially matched together by both the shipbuilder and the Navy. The
fourth is delivery of the submarine to the Navy by Electric Boat which was completed in December. The formal commissioning of the IOWA as a member of the fleet on April 5,
2025 is the final step.
The Ceremony will begin at 10:00 am EST and concludes several days of events marking the occasion. Public tours of the ship will follow the ceremony.
The USS IOWA Commissioning Committee will be hosting watch parties at various locations around the state. Please visit www.SSN797.com for more details.
This USS IOWA will become the fourth ship to bear the name of the Hawkeye State. The most recent was the former USS IOWA (BB-61), an iconic battleship that served
from 1942 to 1949 and again from 1951 to 1958 and finally from 1984 to 1990 when she was officially decommissioned. That ship now serves as a museum in Los Angeles.
