Commander Steve Halle: Helping Build the Legacy of USS New Jersey

Summary

WETSU: A BattleshipNJ Podcast – Episode Summary: Commander Steve Halley: Helping Build the Legacy of USS New Jersey

Introduction and Guest Background

In this compelling episode of WETSU: A Battleship New Jersey Podcast, host Marshall Spivak engages in an in-depth conversation with Commander Stephen Halley, the commanding officer of the USS New Jersey SSN 796. Commander Halley brings a wealth of experience from his distinguished naval career, which began in 1999. Selected for the competitive Seaman to Admiral program (STANAG 21), Halley’s journey includes significant assignments aboard the USS Ohio SSGN, USS Missouri, and USS Hartford SSN 768 before taking command of the USS New Jersey. This episode delves into his motivations for joining the Navy, his leadership experiences, and his role in shaping the legacy of one of America’s most storied submarines.

Joining the Navy and Becoming an Officer

Marshall initiates the conversation by asking Commander Halley why he chose to enlist in the Navy. Halley recounts the financial and educational challenges he faced post-high school, leading him to seek opportunities within the military for education benefits and unique life experiences. Initially considering the Marine Corps, he was redirected to the Navy after excelling in the ASFAB tests.

"So I sort of looked at the Navy, looked for what education benefits they could provide and an opportunity to get a little bit of a different experience," – [02:26] Commander Stephen Halley

Encouraged by mentors and junior officers during his training, Halley decided to pursue an officer's path, appreciating the discipline and service ethos of the Navy. His selection for the Seaman to Admiral program paved the way for his ascent to a leadership role within the submarine force.

Naval Career and Assignments

Commander Halley’s early tours provide a glimpse into his diverse assignments. He began his career as a nuclear machinist mate aboard the USS Ohio SSGN, witnessing its transition from an SSBN to an SSGN. His subsequent assignment to the USS Missouri connected him to another legacy vessel, fostering a deep appreciation for naval heritage.

"...we would say, 'hoo ya Mighty Mo,' and the Mighty Mo was a tie back to the battleship," – [06:08] Commander Stephen Halley

As the executive officer on the USS Hartford SSN 768, Halley navigated a new class of submarines, highlighting the engineering prowess of the Los Angeles-class vessels. A notable moment from his time on Hartford includes participating in Ice Exercise 2018 (ICEX 2018), where he executed torpedo drills under Arctic ice—a testament to the submarine force’s operational capabilities in extreme environments.

Commanding the USS New Jersey SSN 796

In December 2022, Commander Halley assumed command of Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) New Jersey, leading up to its official commissioning on September 14, 2024. His unexpected assignment, received just before Thanksgiving 2021, was both an honor and a unique challenge. Halley reflects on the significance of commanding a vessel with such a rich history and the deep connections it has with the state of New Jersey.

"I felt like it's kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity," – [15:32] Commander Stephen Halley

Commissioning Week and Ceremony Highlights

Commissioning week was a landmark event, marked by seamless coordination and profound ceremonial moments. Commander Halley describes the emotional significance of being "ringed aboard" the battleship USS New Jersey, a tradition that symbolized the ship's readiness and the commencement of its active duty.

"That was a moment that took me back a little bit," – [20:33] Commander Stephen Halley

A particularly moving moment was the interaction with Admiral Tucker, who provided support and encouragement. Halley credits Admiral Tucker with influencing his decision to continue his naval career, highlighting the mentorship and camaraderie within the Navy.

"Admiral Tucker had a little bit of influence in me to stick around in the Navy," – [44:37] Commander Stephen Halley

Supporting the Crew and Fostering Diversity

Commander Halley emphasizes the importance of supporting the submarine crew, particularly through Family Readiness Groups (FRG) and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) programs. He advocates for community involvement and recognition, such as local governments displaying support banners, which significantly uplift the crew’s morale.

"The biggest thing you can do is kind of support their FRG and their MWR effort," – [54:15] Commander Stephen Halley

A notable aspect of Halley’s command was leading the first mixed-gender crew on a Virginia-class submarine. While media coverage highlighted this milestone, Halley stresses that the crew views their achievements through the lens of professionalism and mission success rather than focusing on gender integration.

"They would rather talk about, 'Hey, let's talk about this great commissioning or the great things that Jersey's done,'" – [37:18] Commander Stephen Halley

Work-Family Balance and Personal Reflections

Balancing naval duties with family life remains a significant challenge. Halley acknowledges the sacrifices made by his wife, Alyssa, who manages familial responsibilities during deployments. He highlights the resilience and support of military families, underscoring the pivotal role they play in enabling commanders to fulfill their duties.

"Alyssa does it magnificently. She basically single parents for every time I'm gone," – [49:21] Commander Stephen Halley

Halley also points to initiatives like dependent cruises, where family members are invited aboard to experience submarine life firsthand, fostering a deeper connection and understanding between service members and their families.

Recognition and Future Assignments

The USS New Jersey SSN 796 received the prestigious 2024 Battle Efficiency (Battle "E") Award, recognizing exceptional performance and combat readiness. Halley attributes this accolade to the crew’s dedication during delivery and Alpha trials, reinforcing the high standards maintained under his leadership.

"We just can't talk about what that number is, but... it's good to see that recognition," – [29:33] Commander Stephen Halley

Looking ahead, Commander Halley has been assigned to the U.S. Fleet Forces Command as the senior inspector for the Nuclear Propulsion Examining Board. In this role, he will oversee routine inspections of nuclear-powered vessels, ensuring safety and operational excellence across the fleet.

Memorable Moments and Legacy

Throughout the interview, Commander Halley shares heartfelt anecdotes that illustrate the camaraderie and resilience of his crew. From navigating through hurricane-induced schedule changes with optimism to celebrating Navy traditions during commissioning week, his leadership embodies the spirit of the USS New Jersey.

A standout memory involves presenting the commissioning pennant and the emotional impact of the ceremony, where Halley felt a profound connection to his role and the ship’s legacy.

"That entire ceremony really special, I don't think, you know, if you looked at all the commissionings of submarines... that was a tremendous moment," – [44:38] Commander Stephen Halley

Conclusion

This episode of WETSU: A Battleship New Jersey Podcast offers an insightful portrayal of Commander Stephen Halley’s journey and his pivotal role in advancing the legacy of the USS New Jersey SSN 796. From his early motivations to join the Navy to leading a historic mixed-gender submarine crew, Halley’s experiences underscore the values of leadership, dedication, and resilience intrinsic to the Navy. His reflections on supporting the crew, balancing personal life, and fostering a culture of excellence provide valuable lessons for both military personnel and civilians alike.

Notable Quotes:

• Commander Stephen Halley [02:26]: "So I sort of looked at the Navy, looked for what education benefits they could provide and an opportunity to get a little bit of a different experience."

• Commander Stephen Halley [06:08]: "We would say, 'hoo ya Mighty Mo,' and the Mighty Mo was a tie back to the battleship."

• Commander Stephen Halley [15:32]: "I felt like it's kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity."

• Commander Stephen Halley [44:37]: "Admiral Tucker had a little bit of influence in me to stick around in the Navy."

• Commander Stephen Halley [54:15]: "The biggest thing you can do is kind of support their FRG and their MWR effort."

• Commander Stephen Halley [37:18]: "They would rather talk about, 'Hey, let's talk about this great commissioning or the great things that Jersey's done.'"

• Commander Stephen Halley [49:21]: "Alyssa does it magnificently. She basically single parents for every time I'm gone."

• Commander Stephen Halley [29:33]: "We just can't talk about what that number is, but... it's good to see that recognition."

• Commander Stephen Halley [44:38]: "That entire ceremony really special, I don't think, you know, if you looked at all the commissionings of submarines... that was a tremendous moment."

Final Thoughts

Commander Stephen Halley's leadership of the USS New Jersey SSN 796 exemplifies the enduring legacy of America’s naval forces. His commitment to excellence, support for his crew, and dedication to upholding the traditions of the Navy ensure that the USS New Jersey continues to be a symbol of strength and resilience. This episode serves as a tribute to his service and the ongoing legacy of the battleship and submarine bearing the proud name of New Jersey.

Transcript

[Marshall Spivak]

Foreign.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Man your battle stations.

[Marshall Spivak]

Welcome to wetsu, a Battleship New Jersey podcast. My name is Marshall Spivak and I'm honored and privileged to be the CEO of the Battleship New Jersey Museum of Memorial and the host of this podcast. I'm joined today by Commander Stephen Halley, the plank owner, commanding Officer of the USS New Jersey SSN 796, the sister ship of the battleship and the third ship in US Navy history to bear the name of the Garden State. Commander Halley enlisted in the United States Navy in 1999 and was selected for the Nuclear Enlisted Commissioning Program. He graduated from the University of Illinois and was commissioned as a naval officer in August 2004. After a distinguished career that spans multiple warships and positions, he reported to Norfolk, Virginia in December 2022 as he relieved Commander Jared Smith as CO of Pre Commissioning Unit New Jersey. And upon the boat's commissioning on 14 September 2024 at Naval Weapons Stationary, he assumed command of the USS New Jersey. On 7 December of 2024, he was relieved by Commander Ron Simmons after a successful, highly successful two year tour of duty as skipper of the USS New Jersey. So let's welcome to the podcast the 32nd captain of a United States ship named New Jersey and our friend, Commander Steve Alley.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Hey, thanks for having me, Marshall. It's an honor and privilege to be on the podcast and supporting the Wet Suit motto.

[Marshall Spivak]

Thank you. There's so much to talk about, commissioning week, the submarine, the battleship. But I kind of just wanted to go back and sort of start from the beginning. And the sort of, the first question I always ask here is why did you join the Navy?

[Commander Stephen Halley]

That's a great question for me. You know, following high school, higher education was sort of on the, on the frontier.

[Unknown Speaker]

How to get there was sort of the question.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Didn't have a lot of probably amazing scholarship options and a lot of, you.

[Unknown Speaker]

Know, ability to pay for college.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

So I sort of looked at the Navy look for what education benefits they could provide and an opportunity to get.

[Unknown Speaker]

A little bit of a different experience.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Just life experience and actually started out.

[Unknown Speaker]

Looking into the Marine Corps.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Marine Corps smoked the ASFAB tests and they basically recommended me going down the.

[Unknown Speaker]

Street to talk to the Navy recruiters.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

When I was talking about what kind of competitive schooling and teaching they had prior for me, you know, getting, getting my first assignment. Once they saw my scores, they sort of just recommended going the Navy route. And that's where I learned about the nuclear program, being a nuclear operator.

[Unknown Speaker]

And so my original enlistment was to.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Be a nuclear machinist mate. So I saw that opportunity to get, you know, about two years of schooling, but then also, you know, a once in a lifetime kind of experience operating on submarines. And so that's. That's sort of why I chose that route. Additionally, the concept of serving in uniform and service, I think I appreciated that. I admired that. I looked up to people that were in uniform, and so I think me choosing that route kind of delivered on that as well.

[Marshall Spivak]

You're the second person so far on this podcast to say they went to join the Marines first. So Admiral Tucker, when we had him on, said he went to the Marine recruiting office. They filled up their slots for the day. They didn't need anybody, and so they sent him down to the Navy recruiter, and the rest is history. So you enlisted in 1999. You were selected for the very competitive, what they call the Seaman to Admiral program. Stay 21, as it's better known as. How did you know you wanted to become an officer and sort of what was it like to join that program?

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Yeah, so at first, I don't even know that I fully understood really, the.

[Unknown Speaker]

The ranks and service that much to.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Really understand the divide between officer and enlisted when you, when you join the military. And if you're a little bit naive to some of that, you know, you kind of don't understand that.

[Unknown Speaker]

There was some great mentors that I.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Had kind of in the training pipeline, and some of the instructors that were at the, the power school where I.

[Unknown Speaker]

Originally enrolled in the officer kind of.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Application process, you know, they kind of.

[Unknown Speaker]

Pulled aside and said, hey, you know, Steve, you'd be. You'd probably be a really good officer candidate.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

So it was really kind of those, you know, junior officers that were in the instructor capacity that kind of pulled.

[Unknown Speaker]

Me aside to kind of encourage me.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

To go that route. But, you know, to be perfectly honest, besides the opportunity to go to college, I didn't really understand much of the difference between sort of the officer enlisted ranks. But it was kind of like I said, someone kind of going out of their way to kind of pull me under their wing and say, hey, you.

[Unknown Speaker]

Should apply for this.

[Marshall Spivak]

That's great. You get assigned to a ship. The first, first boat that you get assigned to is USS Missouri as the weapons officer.

[Unknown Speaker]

First one was Ohio.

[Marshall Spivak]

Oh, the Ohio.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

My first. Yeah. My division officer tour that started in 2006 was the USS Ohio SSGN. So I got there actually the day.

[Unknown Speaker]

The day it returned to service.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Instead of being an ssbn, it established.

[Unknown Speaker]

Itself as an ssgn. It did sort of a recommend.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

So that was my first tour. My second tour was on USS Missouri.

[Marshall Spivak]

So you were on Missouri. You were, you were the Waps. And of course, Missouri being another sister ship of an Iowa class battleship, was there any connection between that? You saw notice obviously was in service for, you know, some time before you, you were assigned there. But was there any connection between that boat and the state of Missouri?

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Yeah, similar to New Jersey, but probably not as deep of, I'd say, you know, kind of a foundation. Missouri did have some ties back to the battleship. In fact, you know, it was a.

[Unknown Speaker]

Little bit more difficult because at the.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Time of delivery, Missouri was on the east coast and the battleship was already out in Hawaii. And so that, you know, that's a long distance to kind of have that same same kind of heritage kind of in the delivery of the ship. But very soon thereafter, Missouri actually got home port shifted. So it was really awesome to watch Missouri, the submarine, you know, driving alongside.

[Unknown Speaker]

The battleship as they changed home port to Hawaii.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

But we had the motto Mighty Mo. So we would say, hoo ya Mighty Mo. And the Mighty Mo was a tie back to the, you know, battleship. And we also, you know, very, very often kind of referred back to the heritage of the battleship similar to, similar to New Jersey.

[Unknown Speaker]

And then even on the crest, similar.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

To the New Jersey crest, the Missouri sits on it in the background and.

[Unknown Speaker]

The silhouette of it.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

So, yeah, very, a lot of similarities between New Jersey and Missouri both, you know, the top two decorated, you know, Iowa class battleships. So it's kind of neat being on both of them and seeing, seeing the similarities there.

[Marshall Spivak]

You were the, then you went on to be the XO on the USS Hartford SSN 768. What was it like sort of to go from your divisional department head to being, I guess, a prospective executive officer and then an executive officer.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Yeah. So not all submariners have been on a lot of different classes. So by the time I did my.

[Unknown Speaker]

Executive officer tour, that was the third.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Class and a new class for me. So there's always a little bit of a learning curve when you first arrive and in getting up to speed on.

[Unknown Speaker]

That particular whole form design and some of the differences.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

But I have to say, you know, the 688 class, Los Angeles fast attack, they really did some great engineering on that boat. And I was, you know, I was pretty blown away about, you know, what their capabilities was, even though it was an older, older submarine. And, you know, we did a lot.

[Unknown Speaker]

Of great things on Hartford. Probably the most memorable during my time.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

There was support ice exercise. So Icex 2018, that was my next question. Yeah, yeah. So Hartford had just done Icex 2016, so it's not too common to get to do back to back ice exercises. So we didn't really think we were in the running for that, but we were selected to do that before our deployment. And that was, that is a very, you know, you know, we only send two submarines to do that, you know, every other year. We were also on the year in.

[Unknown Speaker]

Which, because it also alternates if we shoot torpedoes.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so I also had the opportunity to shoot torpedoes under ice. So that whole collective exercise, you know.

[Unknown Speaker]

Going up to the North Pole, going.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

To ice camp, shooting torpedoes, surfacing through the ice, it's really, you know, for a submariner, that's a very unique opportunity. And so having that opportunity and getting to do that. And what was really neat about, you know, surfacing at the North Pole? And actually the ice pilot had told me this, he's like, hey, why don't.

[Unknown Speaker]

You go walk out about 200 yards that way?

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And I was like, why is that? He's like, because I bet if you.

[Unknown Speaker]

Stand there, no one has ever stood.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

At those geographical coordinates just by sheer, you know, odds of, you know, where.

[Unknown Speaker]

People have walked at the North Pole.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so that was, that was pretty neat. So pretty much everything that was associated with operations under the ice and the ice camp itself and ice exercise, it was really just sort of fascinating everything we learned on that entire operation.

[Marshall Spivak]

You know, it's funny because now, you know, we're recording this in, you know, mid January, President Elect Trump has made an emphasis about, you know, Greenland and the Arctic. You've been there, you've deployed, you've were part of icex. I mean, how much do you know is the Arctic? And for all the conversations I see now the CNO even has an Arctic medal for those who served up there. You know, is the Arctic sort of the next, you know, frontier or is, you know, how, how are we. How is the Navy sort of positioning itself to sort of deal with those kind of threats?

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Well, so I think we really first.

[Unknown Speaker]

Started positioning ourselves to have an unlimited.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Reach and with nuclear propulsion, Right. That allows us to stay submerged sort of indefinitely, just, you know, basically the.

[Unknown Speaker]

Sanity of the crew and the food.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

We have on board.

[Unknown Speaker]

And so that development of Nautilus and.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Then all the future classes has really sort of opened up that aperture to, to allow for the Arctic operations. So, you know, we've really been doing that since, you know, the early 60s. And so I think that's sort of a testament just to the submarine force and its capabilities in general. And I think what we're seeing is that concept that we put into work in the 50s and 60s of the.

[Unknown Speaker]

Previous century is really paying off so.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

That we can kind of continue to validate that we can operate in sort.

[Unknown Speaker]

Of all aspects of operations all around the world.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And I think us going up there every two years and improving the concept of operations just goes on, goes on to support that.

[Unknown Speaker]

It's interesting you brought up the Arctic Operations Medal.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

So you'd be interested to know which.

[Unknown Speaker]

Submarine actually requested to upgrade the Arctic ribbon to the Arctic metal. And the answer would be the Hartford in 2018.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

So that was my commanding officer and I, along with some great ideas from.

[Unknown Speaker]

The crew and designs actually we submitted.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

For that Arctic Operations Medal. And so, you know, the Air Force has an Arctic or I think it's actually Arctic operations that the Air Force has. It's a similar metal. There's also an Antarctica operations metal. And so what was sort of lacking was the, the fact that there was only a ribbon awarded to certain Navy operations. So we had sort of, you know, our conjecture anyways and submitting for it was not all Arctic operations are similar.

[Marshall Spivak]

Right.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And you know, submarine operations are long time operations on the ice. It's pretty arduous stuff. And in fact, if, you know, normally.

[Unknown Speaker]

Our emergency recovery, recovery method is to.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Emergency surface to the, you know, to.

[Unknown Speaker]

Get fresh air or if there's a.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Fire or something and in the Arctic, you know, environment that's not an option. So our sort of safe haven is taken away. And so yeah, some great ideas from the crew, you know, you know, some of the crew members, myself, even the captain had some, you know, insight on the designs and we submitted that up.

[Unknown Speaker]

It just took several years to actually get that over the line.

[Marshall Spivak]

So it was really kind of time though, I guess.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Yeah. So Captain Matt Fanning, who's, who's currently the commanding officer of the submarine school.

[Unknown Speaker]

He was one of the first to.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Get, get awarded it by the Chief of Naval Operations along with, you know, this year they sort of, they let.

[Unknown Speaker]

The whole Navy know.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

This year at ice camp when CNO was on board, I believe it was Indiana, they presented a plaque to kind.

[Unknown Speaker]

Of say, hey, this has been approved.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And your crew is going to be.

[Unknown Speaker]

One of the first to order it.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

But it was actually a lot of.

[Unknown Speaker]

Hard work by the crew of Hartford.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Back in ISEC 2018, where at a.

[Marshall Spivak]

Later episode of this season or next season, there's One member of the New Jersey state legislature. New Jersey state legislature, who is a Navy vet. I don't know if you met him during commissioning week. He served two tours, full deployments in the, in the Arctic on USS Whale. So we're going to be talking to him and getting a full, full scope of that either later this season or next season, but. Oh, great, you know, so then you end up at the New Jersey, getting command of New Jersey. Do you remember where you were, what you were doing when you, you know, got the news that you were getting your first command and it was on this pre commissioning unit.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Yeah, so it was, I can't remember I remember which year it was, but it was just before Thanksgiving.

[Unknown Speaker]

So if I relieved in 22, it.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Was Thanksgiving of 21 and I was with my wife's family and you know, got, got the, the call from the Admiral. So the way that they view submarine commands as the first flag officer in your chain of command, that's a submariner calls the prospective commanding officer to inform them, hey, this is the command you've been selected for. So I got my call and it was a little bit unexpected. I knew it was supposed to happen about the next two weeks, but they, you know, they made it a goal to get it out before the actual Thanksgiving holiday. And yeah, I was elated. The, you know, not only know where I'd be assigned, but kind of the.

[Unknown Speaker]

Role of delivering New Jersey on sea.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Trials and likely doing the commissioning that was all sort of like, you know, both interested, you know, I was very interested in doing that, but also I kind of felt like, you know, it's kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity. And so, yeah, I was very grateful.

[Marshall Spivak]

That I did, you know, going into it, that you would likely end up not on the New Jersey specifically, but on a pre commissioning unit rather than something that was already a boat that was already in service.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

No, I didn't know once I started, you know, once I basically had made the commitment to go to command and you know, then you, you get sort of slated to which submarine positions would be available. No, I didn't, I didn't really know.

[Unknown Speaker]

What that looked like, whether or not.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

There even be a pre commissioning unit on sort of the docket on the roster. So, yeah, that was, that was kind of once our class load, you know, our group of selectees got listed out. You know, I saw New Jersey was, was a potential, you know, submarine to go to and I was pretty excited about. Plus my, I think as you know, Alyssa and her family, we have some ties in New Jersey.

[Unknown Speaker]

And so for all those reasons, it.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Was just a really great fit.

[Marshall Spivak]

You said during commissioning Week when you first became co, you looked at a lot of the records and, and you. You didn't believe how many namesake trips the crew took to New Jersey over these last years, but you were happy to be proven wrong, obviously. Did you sort of know or, or did it sort of dawn on you at that time, maybe there was something special about this boat, its relationship with the state, and, and obviously the, you know, probably realizing there was a battleship also, you know, with the same name?

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Yeah, I think, I think you said it. Well, I didn't believe it at first. I just sort of thought it was okay. Every, every submarine has a relationship with their state.

[Unknown Speaker]

They do namesake visits.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And it wasn't until I think I, A, got to tour the battleship, b, got to go on kind of my first trip as a namesake and, you know, was actually to. To Elizabeth was a lot of the majority of that trip. You know, that sort of solidified for, to me that, hey, this is something different, something special. And just the general, you know, everyone that I spoke to in the state.

[Unknown Speaker]

Everywhere I stopped, whether or not that was a restaurant or to get coffee.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

They were just, you know, amazed to see me in uniform.

[Unknown Speaker]

They were very grateful for my service.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And then once they found out that I was associated with the submarine named after the state. And so, yeah, very quickly I went from it's probably your standard vanilla relationship with the namesake to, no, this is something special and something different. And then as we started to plan and get more solid dates and times and location for the commissioning, it was even more very transparent that this commission was going to be something special. And obviously you're a member of the commission committee, so, you know, and you get it. But the motto of best commissioning ever, really, the committee, yourself, everyone really outdid themselves because, you know, what was it? Nearly 5,000 people on the pier, you know, a flyover from Air National Guard. I mean, you name it there. There's a lot of stuff there that is just really special. And so, like, like I said that, you know, it took me a while to, to realize that's what it was going to culminate in. But it was, you were telling me from the, from the, from the stancer. And then, you know, specifically on the namesake visit from what the records kind of indicated was New Jersey had, you.

[Unknown Speaker]

Know, done more namesake trips to the.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

State than any other PCU. In fact, someone had said, like, then the last three PCUs combined, we had Done more to that state, to New Jersey. So that was great.

[Marshall Spivak]

That's awesome. Earlier this year in June or earlier in 2024, in June, you and several members of the submarine crew traveled to Paulsboro and joined us here on the battleship on our second leg of our. What we're referring to as our summer river cruise back to Camden. Your first time underway on the battleship? First time the battleship's been underway, you know, in this dry docking project in 25 years. What was that experience like? Was it what you expected and just want to get your thoughts on being underway with us?

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Yeah, no, so first and foremost, right?

[Unknown Speaker]

So when you're named after the state of New Jersey, when you're rung aboard.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And I'm sure you know this, and some of your listeners, you know, probably do as well, but, you know, so.

[Unknown Speaker]

They refer to the captain ringing on.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

A board as the name of the vessel. So, you know, New Jersey arriving, you know, me having been running aboard the submarine, you know, a lot of that nostalgia and sort of like initial this is pretty, you know, the awestruckness of, you know, pretty much, you know, dwindled after a time. You sort of. You forget about that sometimes when you're.

[Unknown Speaker]

Showing up to work daily.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

But when you're approaching the battleship, when you're, you know, your normal nine to fivers on a submarine and, you know, getting ring aboard the battleship and then still, you know, referring to as New Jersey arriving, that was. That was a moment that took me back a little bit. And then, you know, the submarine, you know, we, you know, I think we started to say sometimes we refer to.

[Unknown Speaker]

It as the silent J.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

We got to see how that sticks over time. But, you know, it's. A lot of it is below the water line, so as you walk aboard, you don't. You don't feel this, you know, several hundred feet of firepower and turrets sticking up. And so just that whole moment of being rung on board and saying, New Jersey arriving, but then looking at, you know, the battleship, that was definitely something special. And then the fact that we, you know, then proceeded to get it underway and Joe Benton and the McAllister team got that tug, you know, the tug power, got it going in a current, and I think the GPS speed was.

[Unknown Speaker]

Well over 8 knots at some point.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Um, and so when I looked at beam from the bridge and actually saw, you know, the buildings, everything, you know, that that was another part of the trip that I, that I won't forget that.

[Unknown Speaker]

Wow.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Like, I, you know, I can't even.

[Unknown Speaker]

See the Tugs from the bridge.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

So it feels like we're just underway on the battleship. Yeah. No, so. So that was. That was great. And then even just getting to hear some of the stories about the other part of the trip with Admiral Tucker on board and just, you know, just.

[Unknown Speaker]

Seeing all the volunteers, the crew, everyone.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Who was helping out, just kind of.

[Unknown Speaker]

Alive just as much as the ship was underway.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

No, it was pretty memorable, and my crew, the ones that got to join.

[Unknown Speaker]

Me, absolutely loved it.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

So, you know, I think there was a couple different opportunities for them to.

[Unknown Speaker]

Shoot off some of the.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Not only the signal cannon, but one of the quad. Quad turrets. You know, they shot around often. One of my favorite photos, actually, so.

[Unknown Speaker]

Kind of bringing this full circle to.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

The WETSU flag hanging up behind you is, you know, me and several members.

[Unknown Speaker]

Of the crew got to hold that.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Up, I think, right there by turret, too. And it's probably one of my, you.

[Unknown Speaker]

Know, favorite photos in command with the crew there.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

You know, we're in our whites, so.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah, that whole day was great.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Pretty sure that was June 20th, maybe.

[Marshall Spivak]

June 20th. That's right.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Yeah. Yeah. So.

[Marshall Spivak]

And I'm pretty sure that picture was in the commissioning book. Commissioning day book.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Oh, yeah, I think it did make it.

[Marshall Spivak]

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. When you are still the skipper of a pcu, are you still New Jersey arriving, even if it's not a commissioned vessel, or is it something different?

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Yeah, no, they. They still use the same verbiage on that. I mean, there's a lot of. There's some very specific things that, you know, when you're pre commissioned, you know, there's certain things like funding, and there's some other administrative things. You know, we don't have an FPO address, so there's a lot of things.

[Unknown Speaker]

That still have to occur at the.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Commissioning, but some of the pomp and.

[Unknown Speaker]

Circumstance, some of the traditions and courtesies still kind of occur, even though you're.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Not fully commissioned, the biggest being, you know, the commissioning pennant.

[Unknown Speaker]

So it's pretty neat.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

You know, after we got commission, I kept taking selfies with the commissioning pennant.

[Unknown Speaker]

Because it's like, oh, they're finally on the flagstaff.

[Marshall Spivak]

Yes. Well, we've talked a lot about being a pre commissioning unit commander. What does it take to get a crew and a boat ready for commissioning? Sea trials and certifications. Can you give the listeners here a little bit about the process of shipyard to the Navy accepting the boat to all the different sea trials and certifications and things like that? A lot of us now have some of the different Sea trial posters hanging in our office and stuff like that. But we, you know, love to hear from your perspective about sort of that process and what it really takes to get a boat ready to be commissioned, to enter, you know, the active. The active duty fleet. Would love to hear a little bit about that.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Yeah. So, you know, none of my tours previous to this were, you know, in.

[Unknown Speaker]

Delivering a new submarine.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so I was. I was blissfully ignorant as to what that challenge looked like until having done it. So through the construction phase, as the.

[Unknown Speaker]

Ship systems are turned over and completed.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

They'Re kind of turned over from the shipyard teams that not only build and construct them, but then also test them. So we do kind of a joint walkthrough system turnover. And so slowly, as the, you know, as the systems kind of come on.

[Unknown Speaker]

For full operation and turned over to.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

The crew, the crew then kind of inherits them. So they kind of sign for them, they validate their operability, and then they start being able to not only maintain them, operate them, but build proficiency on them. So a lot of the weeks and months, and in our case even over a year leading between the actual sea trials, the crew is working on training, but also working on proficiency in operating those systems. The tricky part is manning the submarine in a manner that the crew gets.

[Unknown Speaker]

There and that system turnover starts well.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Our nominal manning structure didn't work out.

[Unknown Speaker]

Well because that was through the COVID era.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so the construction that got delayed kind of through Covid caused a lot.

[Unknown Speaker]

More personnel turnover specific to New Jersey. And so what made New Jersey delivery.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Kind of specifically sort of arduous was.

[Unknown Speaker]

We had a lot of crew members.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

That were coming up to.

[Unknown Speaker]

It was time for them to rotate, but they had been the one who had maybe accepted the system or became proficient or qualified to operate that system.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And then we replaced them with a brand new sailor who had never been to sea on a Virginia class. And so a lot of that time that leads up to that is you're sending a lot of sailors that newly.

[Unknown Speaker]

Report to New Jersey, you're sending them.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

On other submarines to get proficiency operating at sea. So what it really looked like from when I took over was, you know, basically show up and a lot of.

[Unknown Speaker]

The crew had never been to sea before because they hadn't had an opportunity.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

To go on some of the other.

[Unknown Speaker]

Delivered Virginia classes and get proficiency operating at sea.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so, you know, I show up.

[Unknown Speaker]

And it's a lot of new crew never operated the systems before, and, you.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Know, we're getting ready to go to sea.

[Unknown Speaker]

Trials in six to seven months.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

So a lot of our focus was going to, you know, the trainers and simulators we have in port that allows them to build, you know, some proficiency. It's not, it's not the, you know.

[Unknown Speaker]

The full thing of driving the submarine.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

At sea, but it gets, you know, there 60, 70% of the way. And then, you know, we did a lot of what we call fast cruises. So we simulate the submarines underway. So we take a break from the construction side. So we ask the, the construction team that's doing some of the final details for delivery. We asked them to, hey, give us.

[Unknown Speaker]

Some unencumbered time on the ship where it's just the crew.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so we kind of simulate like we're underway.

[Unknown Speaker]

So we operate the systems as much as we can. We man the watches just like they'd be manned underway.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And really sometimes, you know, because there's.

[Unknown Speaker]

No windows on the submarine, you don't.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Even know what time of day it is.

[Unknown Speaker]

You can almost trick the entire crew.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Into thinking, yeah, we're actually underway because, you know, stable core speed and depth.

[Unknown Speaker]

The submarine doesn't move a whole lot.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

So it can be pretty tricky. And so, you know, really focused on, you know, training the crew.

[Unknown Speaker]

So in parallel with finishing up the.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Construction and testing, you know, we were really trying to work on the training piece. And then you sort of, you know, one of the big final milestones is you actually start up the reactor. You do the final testing on the reactor steam system and then once that's all certified, it's basically, you know, validating.

[Unknown Speaker]

All the forward systems, the non engineering systems, work and function. Once those sort of two major milestones are complete, you know, the crew gets.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

A last minute sort of certification to make sure that, you know, there hasn't.

[Unknown Speaker]

Been high crew turnover. Everyone's qualified and proficient to operate the.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Systems and then you invite the admiral on board. So we had Admiral Houston's first Alpha C trials. So he comes on board, does sort of an inspection of the ship, we give them an operational brief and then.

[Unknown Speaker]

You know, we set sail for Alpha C trials.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

So it is, it is a lot.

[Marshall Spivak]

Of work to see trials. Right? Is that, is that right?

[Commander Stephen Halley]

So Admiral Houston did validate that it.

[Unknown Speaker]

Is the fastest Virginia class Alpha C trials on record.

[Marshall Spivak]

Awesome. That's awesome.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

We just can't talk about what that number is.

[Marshall Spivak]

Well, that's fine. We don't have to get into those details. You know, I think a lot of another question that we sort of get often when people are talking about the submarine and so obviously a little bit different here, you know, on a battleship, on the surface force. But just for the average listener, what is it? What are dolphins and what does it take to be qualified and to get your dolphins and what is, and what does that mean, you know, for a sailor to earn their dolphins?

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Yeah, so the dolphins is, you know, are listed in officer warfare pin. And you know, normally it takes anywhere and, you know, I'll kind of talk about averages, but, you know, enlisted dolphins, normally, you know, six months to a year, officer dolphins, anywhere from, you know, nine months to, you know, 14 or 15 months of a qualification path. So it's required for you to be qualified, something both import and something at sea, as well as sort of be a master in all things submarine. There's kind of some core competencies to that qualification because we don't have the.

[Unknown Speaker]

Luxury of having separate damage control men to come in and fight fires and.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Do damage control efforts. Every submariner is a damage controlman. So we have to respond to fire.

[Unknown Speaker]

Or flooding and any sort of casualty on board. So there's a core sort of competency.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

That to earn your dolphins, you understand, all the systems on board that would be for the safe recovery and damage control, firefighting.

[Unknown Speaker]

So that's kind of one core competency.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

We also just have some systems that are very special for submariners. You know, that's kind of our, you know, ballasting system, our ability to do emergency below.

[Unknown Speaker]

So all the systems that are sort.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Of, you know, unique to the design and operation submarine hydraulic systems are pretty unique. And then obviously all of our life support systems, so kind of that core competency to making a submariner, those systems and all their operations, at least kind.

[Unknown Speaker]

Of the face value of how they operate.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And then you also have kind of.

[Unknown Speaker]

The sort of your specialty of just.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Understanding, hey, how does the engineering team work, how does the weapons department work?

[Unknown Speaker]

And ultimately a lot of the warfare qualifications include, hey, how do you put weapons on, you know, warheads on forehead, so to speak.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so a lot of the dolphin qualifications include, hey, how do the weapon.

[Unknown Speaker]

Systems operate, how do the torpedo tube systems work, how do the torpedo functions?

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so it's, you know, in addition.

[Unknown Speaker]

To all of your at sea watch stations that you're qualifying.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

So each rating and even, even officers have, hey, this is the timeframe that you should qualify for your next.

[Unknown Speaker]

So while you're doing that, you're also kind of concurrently qualifying your warfare qualifications.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

So the dolphins, they mean a lot. And, you know, it's a lot of hard work.

[Unknown Speaker]

It's Months and months of work.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

It's, it makes you a subject matter.

[Unknown Speaker]

Expert sort of in submarines.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so, you know, a lot of, a lot of guys, you know, they get a kind of emotional earning their dolphins. And there's a reason for that.

[Unknown Speaker]

It's, it's a lot of hard work. A lot of pride of the dolphins.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

You know, probably, there's probably over 20 tattoos on board New Jersey of, you know, submarine dolphins. And so it's, it's a kind of a, it's something that, you know, we really put a lot of ownership on them earning. And then you kind of, once you.

[Unknown Speaker]

Earn your dolphins, it kind of sets you apart.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so we, you know, there's a lot of junior sailors that show up and, you know, from day one they're looking up to the sailors that have earned their fish, dolphins. And there's a lot of pride in that.

[Marshall Spivak]

That's a great answer because, yeah, just like you said, I mean, I've seen just in observing, you know, observing the New Jersey crew, the pride that they take in those that are wearing, those qualified who have earned their dolphins. So I wanted to make sure, I asked that for people to have a better understanding of what exactly that means.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Yeah, we try to also place a.

[Unknown Speaker]

Lot of emphasis on the ceremony itself too. When you've now pinned on your dolphins.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

You know, so it's a signed certificate by me.

[Unknown Speaker]

Normally the qualification process involves including the commanding officer.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

It's done through a board.

[Unknown Speaker]

So a lot of times sailors are.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Doing anywhere from, you know, normally it's about a 60 minute to 90 minute technical oral board where they got to validate their knowledge.

[Unknown Speaker]

That board is normally chaired by three.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

People.

[Marshall Spivak]

On the submarine or outside of.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

The submarine, both for officers, they do an interview with a commanding officer that's not attached to the submarine.

[Unknown Speaker]

For enlisted, it's normally fellow crew members.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

So, but it's an officer, a chief, and then typically a petty officer that's.

[Unknown Speaker]

Not in their department. So normally if it's an engineering sailor.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Normally it's a weapons department, you know, senior petty officer. So it's a pretty, you know, again.

[Unknown Speaker]

Pretty arduous technical oral board. But when we present the dolphins, you.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Know, we ensure that normally the sailor has, you know, either their mentor or family member, you know, pin them on, you know, it's typically pinned with reading of the certificate. And then, you know, we typically, and I think this is a heritage that's pretty common in the submarine force. You know, we take thunder below and you know, that book has a lot.

[Unknown Speaker]

Of The World War II excerpts from.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

You know, several submarines that, you know, have some really good, you know, Bill, give me a spread of three on the lead target, you know, two minutes.

[Unknown Speaker]

Apart and third one blows and boom.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so that you read that right before the certificate. And then such as the stuff that.

[Unknown Speaker]

Submarines are made of. Today we welcome another to our myths. We ring the clock, center the diving.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Alarm and, you know, hear the whole crew holler. And it kind of brings that so spreed accord to kind of the moment for that sailor. And normally there's some, like I said, there might be some personal emotion a lot of times when they receive those dolphins.

[Marshall Spivak]

That's great. I love that. Going back just for a second before we get into commissioning week, this submarine has sort of become famous a little bit subject to a lot of really incredible media in which I saw and believed that the crew and yourself really just came off just exceptional. This is the first ever mixed gender, first ever submarine built for a mixed gender crew. Obviously, women have been serving on submarines for a while, but this is the first boat that was built with that in mind. You had big features on espn, on cbs, a couple other places. I saw what was it like to sort of be the first on that front. And certainly I obviously had a chance to interact and to meet and become friendly with a lot of the female sailors on board who I just thought were absolutely fantastic, who really just showed a tremendous amount of pride and what they were doing and being sort of the first in what they're doing in some respects. So from your perspective, just wanted to hear about that.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Yeah, I think most of the women on the crew, what, what they will tell you is they would prefer not to have any sort of spotlight driven.

[Unknown Speaker]

On that because at the end of.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

The day, what's going well on New Jersey is that, you know, when I left, like, all the motivation and all the sort of camaraderie, you know, they don't look at it as like, oh, we've broken the mold and we've got, you know, integrated. They. It's a lot of hard working sailors that just want to get the job done, want to improve their war fighting readiness and really to them it's sort.

[Unknown Speaker]

Of like gender agnostic.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Let's just go be professionals and let's go get our job done. So I think a lot of times.

[Unknown Speaker]

They almost prefer the media not focus on that because for the crew, that's not their focus.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

They would rather talk about, hey, let's talk about this great commissioning or the great things that Jersey's Done. And, but I think that sort of.

[Marshall Spivak]

Humble crew too, by the way. Yeah, I got that five. Yeah.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And, but that's, but I think that's.

[Unknown Speaker]

The humbled approach that they realize that that's not the important thing now.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

It's important, I think for the Navy and I think it's important that we know a lot of those, any barriers.

[Unknown Speaker]

To that diversity are sort of removed.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

But I just think that, you know, the crew that's not focused. But I think, you know, one of the coolest photos and I'll have to see if I can get it tied into the, to the clip is all, all the women of my crew were on the bow of the submarine and they just sort of took a candid photo. And you know, I think it wasn't until I saw that photo that I realized, oh, wow, that's, that's something special like, and it kind of looks like, you know, if you made it black and white and looked at vintage, it just looked like, you know, a bunch.

[Unknown Speaker]

Of submarine sailors hanging out. Right.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

But just to see that the number of them women, you know, I had.

[Unknown Speaker]

Gone all of my submarine tours until.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

That point having just all male crews. And so, you know, for me to have a, you know, 20 some odd year career and then me show up and do my commanding officer tour and just have, you know, you know, 40 women on board and really, you know.

[Unknown Speaker]

There'S always challenges, but for the most.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Part, those challenges weren't much different than.

[Unknown Speaker]

An all male crew.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so I, I think it was just sort of, you know, that's like, that's a cool testament to how we've.

[Unknown Speaker]

Sort of just removed the barrier diversity.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And we're just, hey, what's the next.

[Unknown Speaker]

What'S the next challenge on the horizon?

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And, and I'd say most of the crew doesn't, doesn't even really like to, to focus on that too much. Well, I did that kind of answer.

[Marshall Spivak]

What we were talking about. No, it did. And I, I, if you do have that picture and consent to us, we could put it, you know, we could put it on here because I don't think I've seen that. So that's great. Yeah, that's great. So let's talk about commissioning week for a few minutes. During commissioning Week, it was a Wednesday night with the commissioning on Saturday, we hosted the submarine crew on board here on the battleship for a special ship to ship event, or ship to boat event, I should say the ceremonial passing of the watch. As we were saying, from one New Jersey to the next, I Think in my eight and plus year affiliation with, you know, the battleship, it was probably one of my favorite nights aboard. What was it like from your all's perspective? I know we did a lot of namesake visits as we talked about, but to have that many sailor, you know, maybe that was, you know, five sailors at a time, 10 sailors at a time and probably most, most realistically they've already rotated off. But to have that many crew members here on board at the same time. What you love to hear sort of just from your perspective about the crew's thoughts on, on that night?

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Yeah, well, no, first of all, that night, it was an amazing night because it was beautiful weather. If you recall the sunset kind of.

[Unknown Speaker]

Philadelphia in the background.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

It was, I couldn't ask for a better night. And like you said, it was, you.

[Unknown Speaker]

Know, we had everyone from the crew, with the exception of the few personnel.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

That were in our duty section. And that's actually where we've got some of the best crew photos when I have been in command are both kind of along the way wall there with the ship in the background. And then, you know, you'd had the great idea to do kind of a throwback to put everyone up on the turrets. And so that has been very special to me. So I think. And by the way, that was actually we celebrated the Navy birthday and that. I don't know if you saw the photos on that, but that was the. We elected to put on the cake. I did.

[Marshall Spivak]

Yes, I think yes, I did. On Facebook or somewhere someone.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Yeah. So needless to say, to answer your question, that that definitely stands out. And just in general, the.

[Unknown Speaker]

I felt like, you know, we had.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

We kept saying there's this, you know, close tie between the battleship and the submarine. And I think that night was just kind of a night that we got to celebrate them.

[Marshall Spivak]

Absolutely.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so yeah, no, I thought that that was, that was really special.

[Unknown Speaker]

And I also just thought it was.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

A great party and well hosted event and a lot of the sailors are still talking about it. I think you got, you were able to convince the, the cob to dance with the crew. The, you know, the exo was there dancing with his kids. Yes, there's a lot of, a lot of good fun, both camaraderie and just all out. It was just a great event and just like I said, highlighted the kind of the great relationship. I remember my engineer who had not yet done a namesake visit, he came.

[Unknown Speaker]

Back and he had a big smile.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Ear to ear on his face and he was talking about the reduction gears and he was talking about, like, how much of the engine room looked clean.

[Unknown Speaker]

And how much it looks similar to his engine room.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And. Yeah, so, like, there was just those little moments throughout that whole day that were really special. And then all the sailors that, you know, hadn't got to do on some of the specialized tours, you know, they had that opportunity, and I think everyone's, you know, kind of left that event, talking about, like, we should do this more often. So, no, it was great.

[Marshall Spivak]

And then, obviously, during the commissioning ceremony itself, having Admiral Tucker as a part of the. Our last coined the term wetsu, you know, hand over the long grass long glass to you to set the watch. Paraphrasing the words of another former captain here, Captain Penniston, the ship's CO during Vietnam. His famous words, which we recite often, rest well yet sleep lightly, and hear the call have sounded to provide firepower for freedom. That firepower for freedom. The same motto that now adorns the submarine as well. So, you know, and then what was it like to have Admiral Tucker as a part of commissioning day?

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Yeah, so, first off, the one thing that Adam Waltucker helped me out on that morning was I had realized in my uniform, I didn't have any tissues. And so he handed me a handkerchief.

[Unknown Speaker]

And said, here, hold on to the skipper. You might need it.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And it was really for that moment. So if anyone hasn't watched the actual ceremony video, that is probably the best.

[Unknown Speaker]

Part of the whole video.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so even just hearing you say.

[Unknown Speaker]

Those words again, you know, little bit.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Of hair standing up on the back of my neck. And that, to me, was. That's what really made that entire ceremony really special, I don't think, you know, if you looked at all the commissionings of submarines, both the commissioning pennant from the decommissioning, and then him handing over the looking glass and having those, you know, remarkable words. And I think he's going to be on the podcast at some point as well. And so, you know, I don't want to steal any of his thunder, but that. That was a tremendous moment. And I'll even go as far as to say that Admiral Tucker had a little bit of influence in me stick around in the Navy. So he knew that, you know, I was looking at maybe potentially putting in my retirement. And he was one of the first. First officers really giving me a hard time about how that was likely a poor decision. So now that, you know, that whole relationship, that. That prestige and sort of heritage that he passed, and then, you know, the words that he spoke and then in.

[Unknown Speaker]

The manner he spoke.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And that's why I said, you know, you really got to watch the video. But let's just say that I'm glad I had a handkerchief.

[Marshall Spivak]

So Admiral Tucker was the first episode of the season. In fact, we actually recorded it two days before commissioning day. So when he was in town for commissioning and then came to visit us here at the battleship, and we sat here sitting in the captain's import cabin and we had lunch and we, you know, walked around the ship for a while and heard a lot of great stories and then we recorded the podcast. So it was actually right before commissioning day. But he had some good thoughts, good thoughts on it as well. I can tell you one of my favorite parts of commissioning day. This is a part of the ceremony, other than your shout out to the battleship. Thank you. Was when you read your orders and you turned around to Admiral Houston, you just say, and I, forgive me if I'm misspeaking. On this United States ship, New Jersey is in commission and I am in command. It was just so very official in all of the best ways. And I don't know, it just. And then when I later on and a few weeks later when I served on the John Baslone Commissioning Committee, the ddg, and hearing the same, you know, the same phrase when Commander Livingston took command of the ship when it was commissioned, it just, it's something that I, I just felt was so very official. And it just, it just made, it just, I thought, help make it.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

No, it's great. That was one of those things when you say it, you know, it sort of just comes natural because it's sort of the role. But watching that, you know, from like a third party perspective, I think I appreciated that more. Kind of watching it, realizing how that whole interaction went down. So I have to agree with you. I did appreciate that. One more having seen it. But I will say that, yeah, the Admiral Tucker one really feels it for me.

[Marshall Spivak]

Over the past year, really, I mean, we've been lucky enough to become acquainted, become friends. I've been lucky enough to be acquainted, as you mentioned, with your lovely family. Your wife Alyssa, I think is probably during commissioning week, the only person who was more popular than you were. I'm a dad, to be fair.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Sometimes I get introduced as Alyssa's husband.

[Marshall Spivak]

So, like, no one knows my house. I'm a dad of two. I can't imagine trying to balance my home life while managing a four and a half billion dollar, the apex predator of the US Submarine fleet. Well, first Bravo, Bravo Zulu to You and all of this crew and the crews across the submarine force who do this. But how do you balance. How can you. How do you balance that sort of work? You know, that work, family life, and then respond, an awesome responsibility that you, you know, that you have and that other, you know, other officers have and other crew members have.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Well, I'm sure Alyssa would tell you. Well, I will just tell you I probably don't do it as well as I could, because it does, especially when we're gone at sea, that it's not really a balancing act. It's more of, you know, Alyssa sort of just takes the. Takes the reins on everything, especially being submarines.

[Unknown Speaker]

It's a lot harder.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

I could tell you countless stories of when we're deployed, you know, Alyssa having to make decisions, you know, completely by.

[Unknown Speaker]

Herself, to include the sale and purchase.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Of homes, you know, things that you. You'd want to kind of bounce these.

[Unknown Speaker]

Ideas off of your. Your spouse.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

But at the end of the day.

[Unknown Speaker]

You have to accept offers and, you know, move.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so I will tell you, it's. It's the families at home, you know, especially Alyssa and their ability to kind of maintain resilience. And I say that again, especially with submariners, you know, there's a lot of programs now the Navy's kind of activating or like, you know, you can have like, almost like FaceTime while you're at.

[Unknown Speaker]

Sea on some of the surface ships.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

If they're not in combat areas. And there's opportunities to do a lot of that.

[Unknown Speaker]

But for submarines, we're still very limited on communications.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so it's probably one of the communities that's the toughest on families. And Alyssa does it magnificently. She basically single parents for every time I'm gone.

[Unknown Speaker]

And so for my whole command tour.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

I think there's a lot of times where, you know, Alyssa was left to.

[Unknown Speaker]

Do the brunt of the work.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so I would argue I probably haven't balanced it well.

[Unknown Speaker]

Where.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Where I hope to make up for it is, or provide the other half of the balance is, you know, one of the things that benefits from the sea shore rotation is hopefully on shore duty. You know, some of that can kind of be recouped. But. But, you know, I do try to make it a point like we did a dependent screws, and so we got to bring, you know, Lyssa came out, two of my kids about, you know, a little shy of 30 total dependents were on board. And so they got to see how their. How their sailors operate the submarine and actually Got to, you know, see what submarine life was like.

[Unknown Speaker]

And that pays dividends, I think, to.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

The families back at home.

[Unknown Speaker]

And it's great that the submarine force.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

You know, makes that a priority.

[Unknown Speaker]

So there were. There were key people in the chain.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Of command that made that happen to say, we're going to preserve, you know, this one day of operations, you know, for the families. We're not going to let other, you know, operational commitments sort of, you know.

[Unknown Speaker]

Cause that to slide.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so, you know, it's great that from, you know, pretty, pretty senior levels, they're supporting that, supporting my desire as the captain to, you know, have the families on board. So I think it's one of those things that you probably can never do.

[Unknown Speaker]

Enough for all the birthdays and everything.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And anniversaries that are missed. But I think given the opportunities, try and make those happen. And then, like I said, you know, when. When given the opportunity to recoup, then, you know, you make it. Make it all that important. But, you know, all my kids, you know, having missed a lot of those.

[Unknown Speaker]

Birthdays and stuff, they. They're still pretty proud of their dad.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And it goes a long way that, you know, they. They consider themselves as much as submariners as I am.

[Marshall Spivak]

Absolutely.

[Unknown Speaker]

So all the swag that I've got.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

That says New Jersey ssn, you know, Alyssa gets, you know, a lot of good swag.

[Unknown Speaker]

The kids all wear that with a lot of pride.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so it's sort of a family effort.

[Marshall Spivak]

Absolutely. So before we start to wrap up, I wanted to put on my commissioning committee hat for a second and, you know, I got to spend a bit of time with you guys on the submarine down in. Down in Norfolk and then here in New Jersey during commissioning week. And, you know, some of the things that, you know, we tried to do as a commissioning committee, what we call the habitability upgrades, you know, and I in particular, love sort of all the. The New Jersey Turnpike signs all up around the boat that are actually real signs and made by the same company that makes them for the Turnpike Authority. What, you know, this boat is going to be in service for the next 30 years. And as a commissioning committee, you know, the. Our goal was best commissioning ever. I think we fulfilled that. And now our goal is really the best support ever. And, you know, we raised a considerable amount of money and have, you know, considerable amount left over to support the crew. You know, what do things like that mean to the crew on sort of an everyday level? And, you know, what are ways that, you know, if you're not A part of the commissioning committee. You're just sitting here listening to this, you know, what are good ways to support, you know, submariners, The New Jersey maybe in particular, but you know, the sellers who are out there, as you just talked about, who have sacrificed that sort of, you know, home work balance to primarily, you know, be on the work side of things.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Yeah, I think, well, you know, sailors were never given the opportunity for like, you know, so let me just make sure I answer your question right, Marc. I think what you're saying is like, hey, what are ways to kind of continue to give to the crew in.

[Unknown Speaker]

Support of the crew?

[Commander Stephen Halley]

To me, the biggest thing you can do is kind of support their FRG.

[Unknown Speaker]

And their NWR effort.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

So there's a family readiness group that typically does things that are everything from resources and available things that the families can kind of have access to so that while their sailors are away, they can kind of lean on the family readiness sometimes. They also do some social activities, things to keep the kids engaged, keep the spouses engaged. And so anything that supports the family.

[Unknown Speaker]

Readiness group directly supports the sailors, their.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Families and their well being.

[Unknown Speaker]

Same thing with the mwr, so the morale, welfare and recreation. So the crew has its own MWR sort of organization.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

They're responsible to host picnics. So occasionally they'll do, you know, picnics for like crew functions just to kind of have some social events. We did a bowling outing one time.

[Unknown Speaker]

They did a Christmas party.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And it's really just a way to kind of, you know, builds a little bit of camaraderie and esprit de corps, you know, internal to the ship. But also, you know, is opportunity a lot of times for the families to.

[Unknown Speaker]

Come to those events.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And those events really, they just, they kind of get better with the more sort of funding and fundraising they have behind them. And so to me, those are kind of the biggest ways you can kind.

[Unknown Speaker]

Of support the crew. The crew, obviously, you know, they also.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Do like, I think, you know, recognition, like realizing that, you know, they're doing a hard job and you know, so.

[Unknown Speaker]

Anytime that they also feel that like.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

People understand, you know, kind of what they're going through means a lot. So I remember, for instance, Mayor Perry of Middletown, they had posted, you know, some, some flags along, you know, the.

[Unknown Speaker]

Side of the, the major road there.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Going into the weapon station, you know.

[Unknown Speaker]

The crew is just floored that like, hey, there's, there's banners up that are showing our support. So it's things like that that, you.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Know, almost don't have the same Monetary value. But it's, it's a show of, hey, you know, we see you like New Jersey. Like, we understand you're out there doing.

[Unknown Speaker]

A lot of hard work.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

So really, if you're, if you're supporting kind of one of those two lines of effort, it just, it goes a lot further for the sailors.

[Marshall Spivak]

What we'll do.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

I don't know if that answered your question mark.

[Marshall Spivak]

It does, I think. And what we'll do is in the description of this episode, we will post a special link for anyone who wants to make a donation to either of those, the FRG or the mwr for the submarine New Jersey. We will take that money here at the battleship and we will donate 100% of all of that money that anyone wants to donate and make sure that gets to, to the crew. Because you're right, we, we have to, we have to continue to support it. Commissioning week's over and we did a lot of really amazing things, but we also have a, a lot of new crew on the boat who weren't necessarily at commissioning just in September. So we want to make sure that they are, you know, that they, they feel support as well. So we'll, we'll absolutely do that. You mentioned earlier, you, when we were talking about Admiral Tucker for a second that you had planned on retiring and getting out of the Navy and becoming a civilian. You've obviously changed course. I know you sort of recounted, you talked about Admiral Tucker's influence in there, and I was really thankful to be down at the change of command at Norfolk in December. And you talked about Admiral Houston's influence on you staying. So what, you were leaved in December. You are now at a new assignment. What is that assignment? And what do you, what do you have going in, in the future if you're able to share?

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Yeah, so I've just been recently assigned to U.S. fleet Forces Command as the senior inspector for the Nuclear Propulsion Examining Board. So normally there's a team of, for submarines, you know, four inspectors that conduct routine inspections on all of our nuclear powered vessels. And so we basically provide an assessment about just safety protocol and policies, guideline procedures, their training program, things like that. And so I'm part of that team for probably the next 18 months. So there's sort of two teams on the East coast, two teams on the west coast. And then, you know, when there's a carrier inspection, both sections of the team, because the, just the size of the engineering department all support those examinations.

[Unknown Speaker]

So that'll be sort of the battle rhythm.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

A lot of Travel a lot of seeing different submarines and different aircraft carriers operate. So that kind of what the lay of the land looks like for the next 18 months. And the other thing is just wanted to give a shout out to the crew of New Jersey. They were awarded the 2024 Battle Efficiency Award. So they won the Battle E Award. And a lot of that's the hard.

[Unknown Speaker]

Work they did on the delivery Alpha trials. They knocked all the trials out of the park.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

We also did one of our inspections with only two days at sea operation time, and they did really well on that inspection. And so it's great to see that recognition for all the hard work that they put in.

[Marshall Spivak]

Not only what that, what the Battle E is, because we have one here at the battleship and it's painted very large on the, on one of our smokestacks. And we get asked very often what that means. So it'd be great if you could actually explain what that means.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Yeah. So the Battle Efficiency Award, you know.

[Unknown Speaker]

Awarded annually and normally it's for the.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Calendar year, really just goes for the top performing, you know, either squadron or ship in that, you know, you know, squadron or wing. So it can be awarded to aviation squadrons, can be awarded to ships or submarines. And so they all have a, you know, destroyer squadron or a submarine squadron. So, you know, among your, your peers, you know, you're a top performer and specifically demonstrating or fighting readiness for, for combat. And so sometimes that's just as simple as, hey, you're meeting all the mission tasking by getting through all of your delivery trials and you know, meeting certification.

[Unknown Speaker]

So that you, you know, could be.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Surged into combat when ready. So again, it's, it's, it's sort of competitive among that, that group. And then, you know, one year, for example, on Harford, they actually won the Battenberg Cup. That's where then like, you know, the different squadrons and submarines and aircraft carriers, you know, different units go on to contend for, like, who's the top Battle E winner. So who knows, maybe, you know, later in 2025 we'll hear that, you know, there's, there's a next higher up going to New Jersey. But normally when you're not seeing a lot of combat operations, deployed operations, it's.

[Unknown Speaker]

Hard to contend against those who are.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

You know, actually putting, you know, ordinance out, you know, taking down drones and other things. So. But no, it's, it's good to see that the New Jersey got that recognition.

[Unknown Speaker]

For all their hard work that, that last calendar year.

[Marshall Spivak]

I got one last and final question. I almost neglected to Ask you something? I'm asking of everybody. This is the WETSU podcast. We eat this stuff up or something, as you can imagine. Any particular, you know, doing hard work, grueling work, with a smile on your face, really? That's the meaning of it. Is there any particular wetsuit moment that comes to mind from either your time on this, on the New Jersey, or just really, you know, during your career in the Navy?

[Unknown Speaker]

Oh, absolutely.

[Marshall Spivak]

No.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And I think. And so I told the crew more about this because it came up at commissioning, and then I think more people had seen the battle flag. And there were some times shortly after commissioning, you know, we were doing a lot of our trials in and around a couple of the hurricanes that were going through Florida and Colfin. So we had a lot of schedule turn. We had to do a lot of operations in heavy weather. And so a couple times our schedules, you know, got canceled, got redone. And, you know, it was almost like.

[Unknown Speaker]

The crew never knew what the next.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Week was going to hold because it was contingent on the next three days of bad weather. And so that's when I kind of, you know, started going to the crew, and I was like, it's all right. Like, let the weather bring what they want. Like, we eat this stuff up. And we just. It's. I got some of them to sort of, like, kind of get behind the wetsuit motto.

[Marshall Spivak]

I love that.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And. And they appreciated that because, you know, it was. It was pretty grueling just not knowing, you know, because we didn't know at that time when we're going to be back with our families.

[Unknown Speaker]

We didn't know what the next event.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Schedule or what our schedule shift was going to be. And so, you know, it was.

[Unknown Speaker]

It was a great testament to say, hey, it doesn't matter.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Keep bringing us hurricanes, keep throwing it all at us.

[Unknown Speaker]

We. We eat up the heart. Like, if it's difficult, send it our way.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

And so the wetsuit was sort of what I was preaching during those moments.

[Marshall Spivak]

I love that. Well, you were in State 21, Seaman to Admiral. So we're glad that you didn't get out of the Navy because you still need to get that star. And we will gladly host that promotion ceremony here on the Battleship New Jersey. But Commander Steve Halley, it's good to see you, my friend. Thank you very much for your time today, your service to our country, our state, our USS New Jersey, which we honor and we love. So thank you very much.

[Commander Stephen Halley]

Great, Nay. Thanks again, Marshall. I enjoy doing this and talking with you. And like I said, I want to keep the relationship with the battleship alive. And anything I can do to support that, I appreciate.

[Marshall Spivak]

Thank you.