Commander, Submarine Group Two

Officer in Charge - Cmdr. John Fancher

 

Executive Officer - Lt. Cmdr. John Witte
 

Chief of the Boat - ETCM(SS) Randall Reid

 

 

Upon completion, submarine Minnesota (SSN 783) will be the 10th of a projected 30 Virginia-class submarines. She will be the third U. S. Navy ship named for the state of Minnesota. The contract to build her was awarded to the Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia on Aug. 14, 2003.

Construction of Minnesota began in February 2008. The ship was named on July 15, 2008 and is expected to be delivered in 2014.

The selection of Minnesota, designated SSN 783, honors the state's citizens and their continued support to our nation's military. Minnesota has a long tradition of honoring its veterans of wars past and present. The state is proud to be home to 46 Medal of Honor recipients that span from the Civil War to the Vietnam War.

This will be the third ship to bear the state name. The first USS Minnesota, a sailing steam frigate, was commissioned in 1857 and served during the Civil War, remaining in service until her decommissioning in 1898. The second Minnesota was commissioned in 1907. On December 16, 1907 she departed Hampton Roads as one of the 16 battleships of the Great White Fleet sent by then-President Theodore Roosevelt on a voyage around the world. She continued her service through World War I, and was decommissioned in 1921.

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