USS New Mexico (SSN-779)

By ETR2(SS) Dick Brown, USN (Vet)

USS New Mexico (SSN-779) is the Navy’s sixth Virginia-class fast-attack nuclear submarine. Her name honors the Land of Enchantment and is the result of a 5-year statewide Navy League grassroots campaign by this council. SECNAV Gordon England made his selection of the name New Mexico official at a special ceremony on December 6, 2004 at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque.
Some statistics for USS New Mexico:

Ship’s Sponsor: Cindy Giambastiani, wife of former JCS Vice Chairman, ADM Ed Giambastiani, USN(Ret)

Launched: January 19, 2009

Commissioned: March 27, 2010

Length: 377 ft

Beam: 34 feet

Draft: 32 ft

Displacement: 7800 tons

Speed: more than 25 knots (submerged), fueled for life

Depth: greater than 800 ft

Crew: 134 highly trained professionals, average age 21

Weapons: Mk 48 torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles

NEW MEXICO is designed to excel in anti-submarine warfare; anti-ship warfare; strike warfare; special operations; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; irregular warfare; battle group support; and mine warfare missions. By doing so, NEW MEXICO will directly enable five of the six Navy Maritime Strategy Core Capabilities - sea control, power projection, forward presence, maritime security, and deterrence.

After successful sea trials, NEW MEXICO was delivered to the Navy on December 29, 2009, four months ahead of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding's contract schedule. Since then, NEW MEXICO has had a grueling schedule; she conducted several months of shakedown operations in the Caribbean, proving that she is now a fully operational combat-ready submarine. However, she also managed to take time out for a VIP cruise for commissioning committee members, swim call and fishing in the Bahamas, commissioning ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk, and a visit by SECNAV.

SECNAV Ray Mabus boarded NEW MEXICO on May 11, 2010 for his first submarine embark as secretary. "I am amazed at the level of skill and the level of expertise of our sailors," Mabus said. "The ability to fully operate a Virginia-class submarine and all of its complex systems is truly remarkable. Our sailors continually show that they are the best trained and the best skilled force our nation has seen."

On June 1, 2010, NEW MEXICO arrived at her new homeport, Submarine Base New London (CT), the Submarine Capital of the World. She is now going through her post-shakedown availability (PSA) period at General Dynamics Electric Boat shipyard in Groton.

The interior décor for "our" submarine has a distinctive Southwestern flair. For example, the crew's mess has been dubbed "La Posta Abajo del Mar" or La Posta Beneath the Sea, after the well-known La Posta de la Mesilla restaurant, near Las Cruces, NM. In fact, the boat's culinary specialists have been trained in New Mexico cuisine at La Posta. Southwest-style bunk curtains were manufactured by a Las Cruces company for NEW MEXICO's sleeping quarters.

The New Mexico Council's USS NEW MEXICO Committee, in association with the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, continues to provide long-term support for the submarine. For more information on USS NEW MEXICO, go to www.ussnewmexico.net.

As the most technologically advanced submarine in the world, NEW MEXICO will provide undersea supremacy well into the 21st century. Wherever she goes, she will carry our name as she protects our freedom and defends our nation. In fact, NEW MEXICO's motto, "Defendemos Nuestra Tierra", means just that, "We Defend Our Land".

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