This is the Admiral’s Cabin as installed on the ship in the late 1980’s. As originally designed, the Admiral’s cabin was a deck above you, but those spaces were repurposed in 1982 as no admiral was expected to fly their flag on the battleship.When Admiral J. Paul Reason came aboard to direct a battle group across the Pacific and into the Persian Gulf, these guest quarters were converted into the space you see today. Admiral Reason was the last admiral to break his flag on board the battleship and he is most well known as the first Black 4 star admiral in the United States Navy.

The most famous admiral New Jersey had aboard was Admiral William F. Halsey during World War II. From this ship he commanded the carriers, fast battleships, and escort ships of Third Fleet during many engagements, including, arguably the largest naval battle in the history of the world, Leyte Gulf. Halsey was popular among the press and enlisted sailors however, alongside Halsey’s early war successes, he made controversial decisions as Third Fleet commander that resulted in the needless deaths of men under his command; most famously sailing through Typhoon Cobra which caused a great deal of damage to both ships and aircraft as well as the complete loss of three destroyers and hundreds of their crew. While a controversial figure, for his performance during the war the Navy made Halsey a 5 star, or fleet, admiral. That is the highest rank attainable in the Navy and has only awarded 4 times.

Halsey and Reason were not the only admirals on board this ship. World War II also brought Admiral Spruance on board. Spruance was in command of fifth fleet from Battleship New Jersey during Operation Hailstone, the only time that New Jersey ever fired her main guns at an enemy warship. While this is what the battleship was built for, she spent the majority of her career doing shore bombardment, not fighting other ships. During the end of the Korean War, Admiral JJ Clark commanded 7th fleet from New Jersey and he flew from the battleship to P'anmunjŏm in 1953 for the signing of the armistice.

The adjoining, symmetrical space is a Captain’s Cabin’s, known as the “In-Port” Cabin because the captain only slept here when the ship was in port. When the ship was at sea, the captain slept close to the bridge in his at sea cabin, which you can see on the RED route.

This room contains the ship’s Silver Service. Originally created for the first Battleship New Jersey, BB-16, this is only a portion of the ship’s silver, the rest can be found at Drumthwacket, the governor’s mansion in Princeton, New Jersey. The first New Jersey was commissioned in 1906, joined the Great White Fleet in their around-the-world cruise, and was then deliberately sunk in 1923 to test the capabilities of aircraft bombs against battleships. There is a third USS New Jersey, a submarine, SSN 796.