Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO to sponsor USS Massachusetts

Sheryl Sandberg to christen their newest submarine, the USS Massachusetts.

The U.S. Navy has announced that Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg will be the official sponsor of its newest sub.

It’s quite an unusual move as Navy ships and subs are usually named for wives of senior officers or politicians. For example, First Lady Michelle Obama sponsors the USS Illinois.

“According to Navy lore, sponsors are said to imbue a ship with their personalities,” states the AP.

Sandberg has closer ties to the Navy than one might think. She coined the phrase “lean in” during a lecture at the U.S. Naval Academy in 2011. Her submarine will be the USS Massachusetts, also fitting, since she went to Harvard.

The Navy tells AP that the move is to better connect with the general American public as Sandberg will be the “public face” of the sub. The article adds, btw, that women were not even allowed to serve on submarines until the Navy lifted its ban in 2010.

USS Sandberg, er, Massachusetts is set to join the Navy fleet in 2022.

Agencies/Canadajournal