Future USS New Jersey to take its official title this weekend

🌊Event happening Saturday

🌊It's a "time-honored ceremony"

🌊Where to watch

MIDDLETOWN — Did you happen to see the USS New Jersey Friday morning as it passed Sandy Hook on its way to Naval Weapons Station Earle?

It’s here for a huge event: its commissioning ceremony set for Saturday, Sept. 14.

“A commissioning is a time-honored ceremony for vessels that are officially becoming part of the Naval fleet and we are honored the U.S. Navy and the USS New Jersey Commissioning Committee have chosen Monmouth County to support this exciting event,” Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone said to TAPinto Middletown.

The vessel had to undergo testing and sea trials to get to this point, according to the USS New Jersey Commissioning Committee’s website. After the ceremony is complete, the vessel will then officially be a United States Navy ship.

Tickets are no longer available for the commissioning happening at 11 a.m. but there’s still a chance to see it unfold; this event will be livestreamed at this link beginning at 10:45 a.m.

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This latest Virginia-class submarine is the third vessel with the name, carrying the motto “Firepower for Freedom,” according to the committee’s September newsletter.

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