Miss USA Tours Submarine

Shipbuilders Stanley Britt and Deborah Jordan were among the employees who met Miss USA Chelsea Cooley during her visit to Northrop Grumman Newport News. Both Britt and Jordan are from North Carolina and work in the sector's submarine program. Photo by Chris Oxley

Last week Northrop Grumman Corporation hosted a visit from Chelsea Cooley, Miss USA, who toured construction of the Virginia-class submarine North Carolina (SSN 777), named after her home state, at the company's Newport News shipyard. Cooley is the first woman from North Carolina to be named Miss USA in 54 years. During her visit to the shipyard, she also went aboard the submarine Texas (SSN 775) and met with sailors from the North Carolina's pre-commissioning unit and shipbuilders and submarine veterans from the state of North Carolina. "It was so amazing having the opportunity to experience something like this,” Cooley said. “I had never seen a submarine before, much less been able to take a tour of one. It was also an added bonus to be in such wonderful company of sailors, veterans and North Carolinians.”