We'll be updating this section as soon as we find that darn 'round to-it with photos and narrative about the commissioning of our namesake submarine, the new USS VIRGINIA (SSN 774). A number of our members were able to attend this great event and we'll try to share our experience with everyone on this site. In the meantime here are a couple of photos - one of the commemorative plaque our Base presented to the Virginia's Commanding Officer, Captain Dave Kern by Founding Base Commander Jack Winn - and one of a close-up of that plaque (which Kenn McDermott made just for this occasion)

Virginia to be Commissioned in Namesake State

From Commander, U.S. Naval Submarine Force Public Affairs NORFOLK, Va. (NNS)

 -- The Honorable Gordon R. England, Secretary of the Navy, has approved Norfolk, Va., as the commissioning location of Pre-commissioning Unit (PCU) Virginia, the Navy’s newest fast-attack submarine and the first submarine of the class. Lynda Johnson Robb, wife of former U.S. Senator Charles S. Robb of Virginia, daughter of former President Lyndon B. Johnson and the submarine’s sponsor, christened Virginia during a ceremony at General Dynamics Electric Boat Shipyard in Groton, Conn., Aug. 16. Virginia, the ninth ship to bear this name, is designed for battle space dominance across a broad spectrum of regional and littoral missions. While maintaining a robust capability for open-ocean anti-submarine warfare, Virginia incorporates an advanced weapons system, vastly improved sonar equipment and cutting edge intelligence gathering capabilities that are key for joint operations in shallower coastal regions, including land attack, intelligence gathering, mine reconnaissance and deployment of special forces. Weighing in at approximately 7,800 tons with a length of 370 feet, Virginia is longer but lighter than the previous Seawolf-class of submarines. The 132-member crew can launch Tomahawk land-attack missiles from 12 vertical launch system tubes and Mark 48 advanced capability torpedoes from four 21-inch torpedo tubes. Virginia’s keel was laid Sept. 2, 1999.

Following Virginia’s commissioning, PCUs Texas (SSN 775) and Hawaii (SSN 776) will be the next submarines of this class to join the fleet.