CEO Corner

Updates from Jonathan Williams

Jonathan Williams is the President & CEO of the Pacific Battleship Center, home of the Battleship IOWA, LA Fleet Week, and the National Museum of the Surface Navy. A purpose-driven leader and storyteller, he shares updates and insights from one of the nation’s most innovative nonprofit organizations. His writing explores leadership, community, and culture — connecting lessons from the deck plate to the boardroom while highlighting the people, progress, and purpose that continue to drive the mission forward.

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Newest Updates

Overview Experience

by Jonathan Williams | Jun 27, 2026 | Visitor Information, [Internal] Posts that act like pages with full-width slider as first section, [Internal] [Sliders] Tours

The overview experience is a 90-minute crew-led tour that brings the ship’s legacy to life through the stories of those who served, and those who preserve her today.

Gun Tour

by Jonathan Williams | Jun 25, 2026 | Visitor Information, [Internal] Posts that act like pages with full-width slider as first section, [Internal] [Sliders] Tours

This exclusive, behind-the-scenes journey puts you inside the systems that made Battleship IOWA one of the most powerful warships ever built.

Engineering Tour Experience

by Jonathan Williams | Jun 25, 2026 | [Internal] Posts that act like pages with full-width slider as first section, Visitor Information, [Internal] [Sliders] Tours

The Engineering Tour takes you below into the hidden heart of Battleship IOWA, where eight boilers and four steam turbines once generated 212,000 shaft horsepower, enough to power 650 Ford F-150 trucks, and drove IOWA to a blistering 35 knots, the fastest of any battleship ever built.

Great Ships

by Jonathan Williams | Jun 25, 2026 | Visitor Information, [Internal] Posts that act like pages with full-width slider as first section, [Internal] [Sliders] Exhibits

Explore the ships of America’s Surface Navy.

Ship Cutaway

by Jonathan Williams | Jun 25, 2026 | [Internal] [Sliders] Exhibits, Visitor Information, [Internal] Posts that act like pages with full-width slider as first section

See inside a Navy ship from bow to stern.

Vicky’s Scavenger Hunt

by Jonathan Williams | Jun 24, 2026 | Visitor Information, [Internal] Posts that act like pages with full-width slider as first section, [Internal] [Sliders] Exhibits

Find Vicky throughout your shipboard adventure.

Escape the Fleet Adventure

by Jonathan Williams | Jun 24, 2026 | Visitor Information, [Internal] Posts that act like pages with full-width slider as first section, [Internal] [Sliders] Tours

In 2011, a small team raced against time to pull Battleship IOWA out of the Navy’s reserve “ghost fleet” — or watch her be scrapped forever. Now it’s your turn to live that mission.