The Big Red Sub Club

Few boats have a closer relationship with their namesake than the USS Nebraska (SSBN-739). In most cases when a boat is commissioned, the area where the sub is named for will form a "commissioning committee", which helps fund the crew party for the commissioning ceremony. On USS Connecticut (SSN-22) the local committee was very organized, and we ended up getting basically the best crew parties in history -- they commissioned a song for us, we had our own license plate, and even our own GI Joe doll collectible figure. (The two casinos in the area competed to do the most for us... it was pretty sweet.) Of course, being built in the namesake state helped -- our T-shirt and ballcap sales were phenomenal, and we didn't even have to end up spending any of the $50K+ we had in the bank because of the corporate sponsorship of the parties. They had so much money left over that they created a perpetual scholarship for crewmembers and their dependents.

In most cases, when a submarine is commissioned, though, the relationship between the boat and the namesake suffers. Not so much for the USS Nebraska. The commissioning committee morphed into the Big Red Sub Club, and they do a lot for the men on the boat. They visit the boat frequently, and even send them fruitcake every year. It'd be nice if all boats could have a relationship that is as strong...