at 11:00 a.m. EST at HII-Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia.
The Virginia-class attack submarine USS Arkansas (SSN 800) will be commissioned on Dec. 7, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. EST at HII-Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia.
The Honorable Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the Navy, will deliver the principal address at the commissioning ceremony. Remarks will also be provided by The Honorable Phillip Jones, Mayor of Newport News; Mr. Mark Rayha, President of General Dynamics Electric Boat; Admiral William "Bill" Houston, Director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program; and The Honorable French Hill, U.S. Representative for Arkansas's Second District.
The submarine's sponsors are the six women of the Little Rock Nine: Dr. Melba Pattillo Beals, Elizabeth Eckford, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Carlotta Walls Lanier, Minnijean Brown Trickey, and Thelma Mothershed Wair. In the 1954 landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional. Three years later, nine African American students became the first people of color to attend Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, a previously all-white institution. President Dwight D. Eisenhower later federalized the Arkansas National Guard to protect the students during their integration.
The Little Rock Nine, as they came to be known, have spent their lives advocating for quality education. While all members of the group will be honored at the ceremony, Carlotta Walls Lanier, Elizabeth Eckford, and Gloria Ray Karlmark will represent them at the christening.
"With her advanced systems, the Nation's best and brightest crew, and her formidable presence, USS Arkansas will play a vital role in maintaining our strategic advantage, ensuring our readiness to respond to any challenge, and protecting our Nation's interests, both at home and abroad," said Secretary Del Toro. "I am honored to have members of the Little Rock Nine serving as her sponsors-and I know their spirit of resilience will guide this ship and her crew wherever they sail."
The future USS Arkansas will be the 27th Virginia-class submarine and the fifth naval vessel to bear the name Arkansas. The original Arkansas was a Civil War-era screw steamer. In 1902, an Arkansas-class monitor, one of the last monitors in the U.S. Navy, was commissioned with the same name. The third Arkansas, a Wyoming-class battleship, was commissioned in 1912. The fourth Arkansas, which served from 1980 until 1998, was a Virginia-class nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser.
Virginia-class submarines are designed to operate in both littoral and deep waters while conducting a variety of missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike warfare, special operations forces support, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, irregular warfare, and mine warfare. Their stealth, endurance, mobility, and firepower enable them to support five of the six core capabilities of maritime strategy-sea control, power projection, forward presence, maritime security, and deterrence. These capabilities allow the submarine force to contribute to regional stability and the preservation of future peace while operating in all areas permitted by international law.
The ceremony will be livestreamed at https://hii.com/events/ssn800/. The link will become active approximately ten minutes prior to the event, at 10:50 a.m. EST.
