USS WISCONSIN (SSBN 827) Association leads the way in Commissioning planning and early preparation
“USS WISCONSIN (SSBN 827) Association is setting the standard and leading the way in Commissioning planning and early preparation.” The Association makes appearance at Naval Submarine League Annual Symposium & Industry Update
Association makes appearance at Naval Submarine League Annual Symposium & Industry Update
Crystal City, VA (November 7, 2023) – The USS WISCONSIN (SSBN 827) Association joined in the comradery and fanfare at the Naval Submarine League’s (NSL’s) Annual Symposium and Industry Update (ASIU) on November 7-8, 2023. The future submarine USS WISCONSIN (SSBN 827) is the second in class of the COLUMBIA (SSBN 826) Class submarines and will play a critical role in the nation’s defense as part of the nuclear deterrence strategic triad.
“The USS WISCONSIN (SSBN 827) Association is setting the standard and leading the way in Commissioning planning and early preparation”, said CAPT Tim Oliver, USN (Ret), Naval Submarine League’s Executive Director. “I’m delighted that the Association could join us at the Symposium! They are a model for Submarine Clubs – forming early and engaging potential donors to help support the future crews of USS WISCONSIN.”
L to R, Kathy DiMaggio (USS Wisconsin SSBN 827 Association Board of Directors), Dr. Kelly Geurts (Ship’s Sponsor), Lisa Phillips (USS Wisconsin SSBN 827 Association Board of Directors), CAPT Mark Parrella (DISTRICT of COLUMBIA (SSBN 826) Class Program Manager), The Hon Jim “Hondo” Geurts, former Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition at the Naval Submarine League’s Annual Symposium and Industry Update in Crystal City, Virginia, November 2023.
In the finest of Navy traditions, a ship’s sponsor “gives a part of her personality to the ship” to bestow “good luck and divine protection.” Dr. Kelly Geurts is the ship’s sponsor and she looks forward to the shipbuilding milestones over the next decade. “While my official duties have not yet begun, I am excited to be a part of the USS WISCONSIN (SSBN 827) Association’s and the NSL’s events in Crystal City this week. I look forward to meeting the men and women in the Navy and in industry, both from Wisconsin and from the rest of the country, who are building the future USS WISCONSIN (SSBN 827) so I can be that much closer to the ship.”
L to R, Kathy DiMaggio (USS Wisconsin SSBN 827 Association Board of Directors), Dr. Kelly Geurts (Ship’s Sponsor), Lisa Phillips (USS Wisconsin SSBN 827 Association Board of Directors), CAPT Mark Parrella (DISTRICT of COLUMBIA (SSBN 826) Class Program Manager), The Hon Jim “Hondo” Geurts, former Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition at the Naval Submarine League’s Annual Symposium and Industry Update in Crystal City, Virginia, November 2023.
“The NSL ASIU provides our Association with a visible connection with industry, an opportunity to meet new supporters and get the word out about Wisconsin” said Ms. Lisa Phillips, a member of the USS WISCONSIN (SSBN 827) Association Board of Directors and an industry partner. The Badger State of Wisconsin has a rich heritage of shipbuilding to support the Navy and continues to make significant contributions to the nation’s defense, with nearly 350 businesses in Wisconsin providing goods or services in support of construction of COLUMBIA Class submarines. The Association has had great support from Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and the Wisconsin legislature. Wisconsin State Representative Kevin Peterson, a retired submariner, successfully supported legislation to provide a small increment of funding for the USS WISCONSIN (SSBN 827) Association in the state’s bi-annual budget. According to Ms. Lisa Phillips, “our Association has used these funds to advance our objective of connecting the great people of Wisconsin with their future namesake submarine, the USS WISCONSIN (SSBN 827) – we are off and running!”
WIS 827 on 8/27 - Capital Square
A Navy Christening marks the transition from a mere hull to a ship with a name and spirit. It will be many more years before our submarine [SSBN 827] is christened, but on 8/27/2022 we were fortunate that the ship’s sponsor, Dr. Kelly Geurts, was in Wisconsin to help us bring a bit of Navy tradition to our celebration. We named our model - Wisconsin Inflatable Submarine (WIS) 827. The champagne shaped balloon used to christen WIS 827 contained water from Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.
On Wisconsin – a New Meaning!
Madison, WI (April 18, 2022) – Today at the Wisconsin Veteran’s Museum in Madison, the USS Wisconsin Association accepted a piece of the SSBN 827 Wisconsin, to be commissioned USS Wisconsin upon completion, from Rear Admiral (select) Jonathan Rucker on behalf of Governor Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.
“We are connecting the people of Wisconsin to the future USS Wisconsin and her crews,” said CAPT Jim Harvey, USN (ret), President of USS Wisconsin SSBN 827 Association. “The museum is the most fitting place for this initial piece of USS Wisconsin to be displayed. Here, all people of Wisconsin may visit and understand the rich Navy heritage of our State.”
Accepting a piece of USS Wisconsin
Director of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, Chris Kolakowski and Rear Admiral (sel) Rucker, the Navy’s Program Manager for the COLUMBIA Class strategic ballistic missile nuclear-powered submarine program
Construction Begins
“Newport News Shipbuilding’s Foundry recently completed a pour of the first casting for Wisconsin (SSBN 827), the nation’s second Columbia-class submarine.'“
“Wisconsinite Minute of Recognition” at 8:27 AM (0827 Navy time) on August 27
Governor Tony Evers proclaimed August 27, 2021 as USS Wisconsin (SSBN 827) Day in Wisconsin to acknowledge the state’s critical role in affirming and expanding the strength and capability of the U.S. Navy. Join us for a “Wisconsinite Minute of Recognition” at 8:27 AM (0827 Navy time) on August 27 to raise awareness of Wisconsin’s rich maritime history and in support of a new Naval submarine that will be named the USS Wisconsin (SSBN 827).
MADISON – Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) Secretary Mary Kolar today called on her fellow veterans and those who support them to join her and the USS Wisconsin SSBN 827 Association for a “Wisconsinite Minute of Recognition” at 8:27 AM (0827 Navy time) on August 27 to raise awareness of Wisconsin’s rich maritime history and in support of a new Naval submarine that will be named the USS Wisconsin (SSBN 827).
Governor Tony Evers has also proclaimed August 27, 2021 as USS Wisconsin (SSBN 827) Day in Wisconsin to acknowledge the state’s critical role in affirming and expanding the strength and capability of the U.S. Navy.
In October 2020, the Secretary of the Navy named a United States Ship (USS) Submersible Ship Ballistic Missile Nuclear (SSBN) submarine after the state of Wisconsin at the request of Wisconsin Senators Baldwin and Johnson. The moniker given - the USS Wisconsin (SSBN 827) – aims to honor Wisconsin citizens, as well as the state’s maritime history and shipbuilding ties to the U.S. Navy.
To help support the men and women who will one day operate and maintain the USS Wisconsin, a nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine, a group of Navy Veterans and Wisconsinites have formed the USS Wisconsin SSBN 827 Association, Inc., a nonprofit organization. The Association brings together partners for educational and ceremonial activities. Key partners include: active supporters, Wisconsinites, and the crewmembers assigned during the ship’s construction, her commissioning as a United States Ship (anticipated in 2031), and until the submarine is decommissioned (about 2072).