We will be transferring our merchandise inventory to Groton on March 1st to have it in place at Commissioning. We are hoping to exhaust our merchandise inventory that week. If you are interested in placing an online order, please do so before February 28th. We do not currently have any plans to restock after Commissioning.
Welcome
Welcome to USS Colorado (SSN-788) Commissioning Committee web site. USS Colorado (SSN-788) is the 15th Virginia Class submarine. She was delivered to the Navy on September 21, 2017. Having completed shakedown operations, she was commissioned on March 17, 2018 at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, CT. The Committee's purposes are to promote awareness within the state, provide support for the crew, and to help organize and raise money for the events surrounding commissioning.
The following press release was issued yesterday by the Navy:
Media Advisory
For Immediate Release Release #2-18 Feb 20, 2018
USS Colorado To Be Commissioned
By Commander, Submarine Forces Public Affairs
GROTON, Conn. – The newest Virginia-class attack submarine, USS Colorado (SSN 788), will be commissioned at Naval Submarine Base New London, Mar. 17, 2018. It will be the 15th Virginia-class attack submarine to join the fleet.
As the most modern and sophisticated attack submarine in the world, the submarine can operate in both littoral and deep ocean environments and presents combatant commanders with a broad and unique range of operational capabilities. Colorado is a flexible, multi-mission platform designed to carry out the seven core competencies of the submarine force: anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, delivery of Special Operations Forces (SOF), strike warfare, irregular warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and mine warfare.
Colorado is a part of the Virginia-class’ third, or Block III, contract, in which the Navy redesigned approximately 20 percent of the ship to reduce acquisition costs. Colorado features a redesigned bow, which replaces 12 individual Vertical Launch System (VLS) tubes with two large-diameter Virginia Payload Tubes (VPTs) each capable of launching six Tomahawk cruise missiles, among other design changes that reduced the submarines’ acquisition cost while maintaining their outstanding warfighting capabilities.
Colorado also has special features to support Special Forces, including a reconfigurable torpedo room which can accommodate a large number of personnel and all their equipment for prolonged deployments and future off-board payloads. Also, in Virginia-class SSNs, traditional periscopes have been replaced by two photonics masts that host visible and infrared digital cameras atop telescoping arms, which are maneuvered by a video game controller. Through the extensive use of modular construction, open architecture, and commercial off-the-shelf components, the Virginia class is designed to remain at the cutting edge for its entire operational life through the rapid introduction of new systems and payloads.
SSN 788 was built at Electric Boat in Groton, Conn and is 7,800 tons and 377 feet in length, has a beam of 34 feet and operates at more than 25 knots submerged. It is designed with a nuclear reactor plant that does not require refueling during the planned life of the ship, reducing lifecycle costs while increasing underway time.
Annie Mabus, daughter of former Secretary of the Navy, Honorable Ray Mabus, is the ship’s sponsor.
The submarine Colorado will be the fourth U.S. Navy vessel to bear the Colorado name. The first USS Colorado (Screw Frigate) was named after the Colorado River, the second USS Colorado (AC 7) was an armored cruiser commissioned in 1905, and the third USS Colorado (BB 45) was the lead ship of its class and was commissioned in 1923.
For more information on the USS Colorado, visit www.navy.mil/coloradocommissioning.
If interested in attending the ceremony, please visit https://usscoloradocommittee.org// to request tickets no later than Mar. 2.
For media interested in attending the Media Day (March 15) and/or Commissioning Ceremony (March 17), contact the Submarine Force Atlantic Public Affairs office at
(757) 836-1650, or via email at USFF_COMSUBLANT_NFLT_PAO@navy.mil by noon, Tuesday, March 8. No live trucks or vans will be authorized.
Media who are not able to attend the Media Day or Ceremony may request remote interviews with Colorado leadership and crew. These interviews will be scheduled on March 15 and 16. For more information, as well as photos and videos of Pre-Commissioning Unit Colorado (SSN 788) please visit the following links:
http://navylive.dodlive.mil/2018/02/16/colorado-ssn-788/#
For more on the U.S. Navy, visit http://www.navy.mil, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy, http://www.twitter.com/usnavy, or @USNavy on Instagram. For more news from Commander, Submarine Forces, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/sublant/
The Navy has allowed us to reopen requests for tickets for another week or so (not sure of final date). You can Sign up Here
The invitations were mailed out earlier this week so those who were expecting invitations should expect them by the end of the week unless you were a late submission. The invitations were mailed by the Navy’s Commissioning Support Team located in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The team is contracted out to McKean Defense company. Please RSVP per the instructions in in your packet. You may have received an invitation requiring you to RSVP to receive your tickets, if so please do so. Otherwise you may have received your tickets to the Commissioning (smaller envelope) in the packet, but need to respond per the instruction to activate the tickets. If you received an invitation to the Chairman’s Reception and/or Platform briefing in the packet, the RSVP listed first is to a web link as opposed to an email. If you have trouble with that, the email: info@usscoloradocommittee.org will work as well. The RSVPs will allow us to order enough food and beverage for the various events. The Navy is collecting the RSVPs for the Commissioning Ceremony and the Committee is collecting the RSVPs for our events. The Navy sent out some 1500 invitations to this event.
For those becoming curious about invitations, they should be in the mail in the next few days. They have been ready since last Thursday, but the Navy has had a problem with their postage machine, so we are hoping the commissioning invitations can be mailed very soon. The reception invitations will be mailed out with postage stamps starting this afternoon. We will let everyone know the status through our our newsletter and this web site and Facebook. No need to email to find out.
