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 Also, in Virginia-class SSNs, traditional periscopes have been replaced by two photonics masts that host visible and infrared digital cameras atop telescoping arms, which are maneuvered by a video game controller.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/#

https://www.dvidshub.net/search/?q=%22Pre-Commissioning+Unit+Colorado%22&filter%5Btype%5D=image&view=grid&sort=publishdate
   

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.

Commissioning Invitations

We have sent our first batches of invitations to the Navy and have one or two more to go. For those interested in attending requests for invitations will remain open until December 31st. Invitations should be mailed by mid to late January. Recall that you must RSVP to the invitation to receive your tickets
We will be accepting requests for invitations on our web site until December 31st. The requests will be forwarded to the Navy who will send out the invitations in the latter half of January. You will need to RSVP to the invitation in order to receive your tickets to the Commissioning.

Commissioning Week Schedule of Events

For the general public the Commissioning Ceremony will be at 11 AM on Saturday March 17th at Naval Submarine Base in Groton, CT. Instructions for parking will follow with your tickets after you have accepted the invitations.
• After the ceremony there will be a reception for all at the head of the pier. We intend to feature Colorado food and beverage products.
• The boat will be open for tours until about 4 PM.
• In the evening there will be a no host dinner at the Marriott.
• If you are arriving early, there are a number of interesting places to see in the area. More will be posted on our web site as we get closer.
• For donors at the Long’s Peak Level and above, there will be several events on Friday starting about 10 AM. During the day we will have a series of tours of USS Colorado and selected submarine base training facilities. There will be a clambake at noon on the base. In the evening the Charmian’s Reception is a very memorable event where a number of presentations are made to the crew.
• There will be party for the crew and their families on Thursday.
For a more complete description about Commissioning week events please see our Commissioning Week page

Commissioning Week Reservations

The Committee has reserved a limited block of rooms at the Marriott at a rate of $129 per night. To make reservations in this block visit:
https://aws.passkey.com/gt/216202754?gtid=84882caa48091ec8f7d76836e8dec45a

AAA Colorado, a long term Committee Sponsor, will assist with travel and room reservations for those interested and has agreed to waive their service fee. To have them assist you, contact either of the following:

Stephanie Portugal, 303-753-8800×8122, sportugal@colorado.aaa.com
Kim Swanson, 303-753-8800×8124, kswanson@colorado.aaa.com