WASHINGTON, DC -- One hundred and twenty-six years after the U.S. Navy’s first submarine, USS Holland (SS-1), was launched from a New Jersey shipyard with a six-man crew, the U.S. Navy is set to commission the first submarine fully integrated for mixed gender crews.  The Navy will hold a special ceremony tomorrow in Middletown, New Jersey to commission the future USS New Jersey (SSN 796) into the silent service.

USS New Jersey is 377 feet long, weighs 7,800 tons, can cruise at speeds of 25 knots (28.8 miles per hour) and remain submerged under water for up to three months, diving deeper than 800 feet below the waves.  This Virginia-class submarine can carry a crew of 120 enlisted Sailors and 15 officers.  It will be armed with Tomahawk missiles and torpedoes, and can conduct anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike warfare, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and mine warfare missions.

While the USS New Jersey is the 23rd Virginia-class submarine to be built and delivered, it is the first of its kind to be designed from the keel up with specific modifications for gender integration.

U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, says the commissioning of USS New Jersey is an historic milestone for the Navy, national defense, and the future of our Armed Forces.

“Our nation is at its best when all Americans, regardless of race, gender, or creed, can fully contribute their talents to the greater good.  For over a decade, women have proven to be outstanding submariners and our submarines themselves will now be better equipped to support those already serving, and all who will serve in the future. The ship modifications themselves are minor, but the progress toward gender equality is major,” said Senator Reed.  “Fully integrating women into the submarine force has increased the Navy’s talent pool, improved readiness, created new career pathways for female leaders, and strengthened national security.  I salute the submariners serving at the tip of the undersea spear.  I will continue working hard to ensure they have the best submarines, most advanced technological capabilities, and can continue to dominate beneath the waves and deter conflict throughout the globe.  Our modernization plans must ensure our nation’s most talented, prepared, and skilled submariners are effectively serving aboard these critical vessels.”

The ban on women serving aboard submarines was officially lifted by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in 2010.  A year later, the first female officers began reporting for duty aboard submarines. The top-down integration approach starting with female officers paved the way for junior enlisted females to succeed when they entered the submarine force beginning in 2016.

Today, the submarine community is a fully gender-integrated warfighting force with 730 women assigned to operational submarines – serving as officers and sailors on 19 nuclear-powered, ballistic-missile and guided-missile submarines, and 19 nuclear-powered fast-attack boats, according to the latest data from the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Forces Atlantic.

USS New Jersey was built to reflect the growing female force of submariners and includes modifications to berthing compartments to enhance privacy, along with other modifications that make it easier for all sailors to live and work on a submarine, such as steps for reaching triple-high bunk beds and adjusting the height of overhead valves to make them easier to reach.

USS New Jersey’s keel was laid in Virginia in 2019.  The ship was co-built in partnership by General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries.  The submarine was christened in 2021 and delivered to the U.S. Navy at Naval Station Norfolk in April 2024.

A livestream of the commissioning ceremony, which will begin at 11:00 a.m., can be found here.