USS VIRGINIA (SSN-774) COMMISSIONING
A number of our members were able to attend this great event on October 23rd, 2004 in Norfolk, Virginia. Immediately following the commissioning ceremonies our Founding Base Commander, Jack Winn, presented a commemorative plaque from our Base to Virginia's first Commanding Officer, Captain Dave Kern. This was a custom plaque made for the occasion by Kenn McDermott.
Captain Dave Kern, on the left, accepting the special USS Virginia Base plaque
from founding Base Commander Jack Winn
And here's a closeup of that plaque:
The photos immediately below are in a standard 'slide show' format. Click on either side arrow to cycle through the photos, or click on the thumbnails along the bottom to jump to selected photos. PLEASE NOTE: The captions for each photo disappear while your cursor is inside the photo area, so just move it away and the caption will reappear. Click through the three photos to see how Virginia allowed guests to board the boat via a forward brow, walk topside past the sail and disembark at an after brow.
PHOTOS FROM USS VIRGINIA COMMISSIONING