Met 777 Commissioning Sponsor, Linda Bowman
On Friday October 14, I discussed with Linda our intent for the SSN 777 Club. She offered her support, introduced me to Commodore Mark Davis, the first commanding officer of the Tarheel Boat, and gave me confidence that our mission on behalf of the 777 crew will purposeful and fun to execute.
While in her home, I met her husband, Admiral Skip Bowman USN (ret), the former Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion. The Admiral is an undergraduate from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, so we enjoyed a laugh regarding his wife’s support of our Tarheel Boat.
From the Society of Sponsors web site describing the commissioning of SSN 777: “On May 3rd (2008), Linda Bowman, the sponsor of USS NORTH CAROLINA (SSN 771), gave the order to man her ship and bring her to life before a crowd of over 5000 on the pier in Wilmington, NC. The city embraced Linda and the crew of NC, offering up a fireworks display in their honor on the eve of the commissioning. As with all the ceremonies, this one had a personality of its own. Captain Mark Davis is the commanding officer. In a well presented speech, Linda, extolled the virtues of the Navy family and stressed the necessity of caring for them.” //cp