US Navy Selects Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg To Christen New Submarine

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg

The US navy has made an unconventional choice to sponsor its newest submarine: Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, who is known for advocating women’s empowerment through her Lean In book and campaign.

Sponsors, who christen the ship, are always women but historically they were often the wives of senior officers or politicians with close ties to the navy. According to navy lore, sponsors are said to imbue a ship with their personalities.
The secretary of the navy, Ray Mabus, chose Sandberg to sponsor the newest Virginia-class attack submarine, the USS Massachusetts. His spokesman, Captain Patrick McNally, said Mabus looks for opportunities to connect the American public with their navy.
“Expanding the variety of people who serve as sponsors is another avenue to strengthen that connection,” McNally said in an email.
The first time Sandberg used the phrase “lean in”, her shorthand for urging women to push for leadership roles in the workplace, was during a lecture at the US Naval Academy in 2011.
Sandberg has publicly praised Mabus for changing personnel policies to empower women who serve, such as tripling paid maternity leave to 18 weeks. They have met several times and he visited her at Facebook headquarters in California, McNally said.
US senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut says Sandberg’s selection is an exciting statement about the navy’s future.