USS Minnesota Named Best Ship in Atlantic Fleet

The number-one rankings keep coming in for the North Star State, including a new honor for Minnesota's namesake submarine.

The USS Minnesota (SSN 783) is an incredible Virginia-class fast-attack submarine in the U.S. Naval Fleet whose home port is the Naval Submarine Base New London, located in Groton, Connecticut. It's the first submarine ever named for the great state of Minnesota.

And, it was recently named the Best Ship in the Atlantic Fleet. Which is quite an honor. According to a U.S. Navy release, the USS Minnesota was announced as the winner of the 2019 Battenberg Cup Award last Thursday.

For those of us not in the Navy, the release explained that the Battenberg Cup Award is presented every year to only one of the nearly 100 eligible surface ships, aircraft carriers and submarines in the Atlantic fleet. It's based on crew achievements, excellence awards and other categories including operating schedules, commitments and other outstanding factors.

And the Minnesota came in first this year. "During her numerous operations, Minnesota outperformed peers and amassed unmatched standings by achieving first place marks in overall battle efficiency, engineering readiness, personnel metrics, weapons readiness and communication," the release stated. "Minnesota also won the 2019 Retention Excellence Award that recognizes superior command accomplishment in executing programs and policies that best enable Sailors to succeed in naval careers," it noted.

The USS Minnesota was commissioned in September of 2013, and is the 10th Virginia-class fast-attack submarine. It has a crew of approximately 149, made up of 18 officers and 131 enlisted Sailors, the release explained.

On behalf of all of us here in Minnesota, congrats to the entire crew of the USS Minnesota! We're proud of you-- and thank you for your service!

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