It's 'Anchors Aweigh' for new USS Iowa
Posted
by Pat Kinney
on Tuesday, March 11, 2025
The USS Iowa submarine on sea trials in November 2024 (USS Iowa Commissioning Committee photo)
WATERLOO — Watch parties are being held around the state the first weekend in April — and not just for the Final Four of the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments.
This "big dance" is a sure thing for everyone in the state - a coming-out party for the state's newest namesake ship.
The submarine named for the state of Iowa will officially be accepted into service in the United States Navy at 9 a.m. Central time Saturday, April 5.
That's when the commissioning ceremonies for the new USS Iowa submarine, hull number SSN-797, will be held in Groton, Conn., where it was constructed. Watch parties are being held around the state, including one at the Grout Museum District’s Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum in Waterloo.
The Virgina-class submarine, six years in the making, was christened in June 2023 by former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack, the ship's sponsor. It was still in drydock then but substantially completed.
Watch parties were held around the state for that event, including one at the Grout/Sullivan museums in Waterloo. This time, there's more than twice as many watch parties for the commissioning, said 20-year Navy veteran Tom Hudson of Des Moines, chairman of the commissioning committee. One additional Cedar Valley watch party location this time will be the Waverly Area Veterans Post in Waverly.
"We had about a dozen for the christening two years ago and I think we're at 26 or 27 for the commissioning," Hudson said. "We're trying to get out there quite a bit further and broader for the watch parties." Those parties were well attended, and organizers sensed more would have been.
"We knew there were whole parts of these state we just didn't have very well covered last time." Hudson said. :"We just made a little bit more concerted effort to get a little bit more of the nooks and crannies of the state."
This is a long view if the USS Iowa submarine when it was under construction in Groton, Conn. It’s 377 feet long, 34 feet wide and weighs 7,800 tons (Photo courtesy of Mat Tanner)
"We probably expect anywhere from 10-15 to maybe 20-25 per location," Hudson said. The Grout/Sullivan location almost has a built-in group of regulars. It has a turnout of three dozen or more veterans for its weekly Wednesday morning free veteran coffees, many of whom also attend special museum events.
Also, "We also have almost 600 people from the state of Iowa who have requested tickets who plan to travel out and attend the ceremony in person," Hudson said. The christening was by invitation only in the shipyard.
"We have industry leaders: donors from various industries across Iowa. We have abour 115-120 people in that category. And then individual private citizens, almost 500, which will be great to have such a huge showing from the state of Iowa.”
Unlike the christening, the commissioning is open to the public. "They’re entitled to attend. It's part of their constitutional right as a taxpayer, basically," Hudson said.
The official crest of the new USS Iowa submarine (SSN-797) includes a likeness of its predecessor namesake battleship, the USS Iowa BB-61, as well as a shamrock in honor of Waterloo’s five Sullivan brothers killed during World War II (Courtesy illustration)
Also attending will be about 65 to 70 Navy veterans who served on the battleship USS Iowa, hull number BB-61, which served from World War II through the 1980s and is now a museum ship at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, Calif. David Way, curator of the Battleship Iowa Museum there, said four of its staff members will attend the commissioning.
The USS Iowa submarine is the latest of several ships named for Iowa in the nation's history. An Iowa steamship was used to transport troops in the Civil War. The battleship USS Iowa BB-4 saw service in the Spanish-American War of 1898 and the USS Iowa BB-61, "The Gray Ghost," served in World War II, Korea and in the 1980s through 1990 patrolling the Persian Gulf. The state of Iowa paid $3 million toward the BB-61’s preservation before it was opened for public tours in 2012. Visiting Iowans may tour "The Gray Ghost" for free by simply displaying an Iowa driver license or state identification.
The Sullivan Brothers museum in Waterloo has a permanent exhibit on the BB-61, and is putting one together on its predecessor, the USS Iowa BB-4.
The submarine actually is at sea now, said Hudson, a submarine sailor himself for half his Navy career. "It's in the water and they're actually out to sea, completing various certifications and testings and trials. They won't get back to Groton until the very end of March, and they've been underway since the first week of January. They'll have almost 90 days of underwater time even before the commissioning.”
Former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack and sailors of the USS Iowa submarine were in Waterloo in August 2021 for Iowa Irish Fest, hosted by commissioning committee member Kelly Sullivan, granddaughter and grandniece of Iowa’s five Sullivan brothers killed in World War II. (U.S. Navy/USS Iowa Commissioning Committee photo)
The christening is when the ship officially gets its United States Ship, or "USS" designation, and actually becomes part of the active Navy fleet, Hudson explained. "It's technically right now called ‘PCU Iowa,’ and that stands for ‘Pre-Construction Unit.’ The commissioning is when the ship officially joins the fleet as an active U.S. warship."
"The crew will be alongside the pier, they'll all be in their dress uniforms, and during the ceremony the commanding officer will read his orders, received from the admiral of submarine Atlantic fleet forces,” Hudson said. “The ship's executive officer will be ordered to raise the commissioning pennant to officially commission the ship.
"The sponsor will yell, 'Captain, man your ship!' and the crew will run down the pier a short distance and along the gangway, and all assemble topside," he said. About a third of the crew will participate in that and others will have to be standing on watch inside the nuclear-powered craft. The total crew numbers about 135.
The USS Iowa BB-61 battleship. which served in World War II, Korea and in the Persian Gulf in the 1980s, is no a museum ship at the Port of Los Angeles (Pat Kinney photos)
Kelly Sullivan, granddaughter and grandniece of the five Sullivan brothers who died together during World War II, is part of the commissioning committee. The submarine's official seal bears a shamrock in memory of the five brothers and their Irish heritage. Former First Lady Vilsack and crew members visited Waterloo for the annual Iowa Irish Fest celebration in August 2021.
“We're really excited to see this coming to a close pretty soon," Hudson said.
Pre-commissioning events include a barbecue by Big Moe Cason of Des Moines, a U.S. Navy veteran who served on the USS Iowa BB-61’s sister ship, the USS Missouri, and a post commissioning celebration will include many foods from the Iowa State Fair -- including, of course, various delicacies on a stick.
“We’re really just going to try to turn this thing into as much ‘Iowa’ as we can on the pier that morning,” Hudson said. “About the only thing we aren’t doing is hauling out the Butter Cow.”
But, he says, commissioning committee members are looking into having a butter USS Iowa submarine sculpted for the 2025 Iowa State Fair.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will be the featured speaker for the commissioning event along with various naval officers.
The Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum will be hosting one of the watch parties on April 5th. Doors open at 8:30AM. The event is free and open to the public. Details here.
More information on the ship and the commissioning may be found on the link here. The link includes ticket information.