WILMINGTON, N.C. (May 3, 2008) Submarine veterans, retired Battleship North Carolina Alumni and some 6,000 attendees witness the commissioning of the newest Virginia-class nuclear attack submarine USS North Carolina (SSN 777). North Carolina is the fourth Virginia-class submarine to be commissioned and the first major U.S. Navy combatant vessel class designed with the post-Cold War security environment in mind. North Carolina will be homeported in Groton