Rural Montana Magazine has an article this month on the newly commissioned nuclear sub, named the USS Montana, and WOW!
A volunteer committee from the state of Montana planned the commissioning ceremony, along with many other activities and ideas.
The commissioning ceremony included a tribal drum group doing an honor song, tribal elders from the Salish-Kootenai tribes doing an honor ceremony, and a luncheon that included handmade pasties from Butte. Officers and crew members assigned to the boat had previously been flown to Montana, to see how special our state is. There are future plans to bring other crew members to visit Montana.
Artifacts and photos of Montana will be all over the boat, along with signage to explain what an item is, what it was used for and other interesting facts about it. The boat will also carry with it, throughout its life, a sacred peace pipe, bestowed on it by Montana’s tribes. Bunks in the sleeping quarters are named after Montana towns, and the walkways are named after Montana rivers. The machinery room, which is where the sub makes its own drinking water (how do you make water??), and pumps it to where it is needed, was named “The Big Hole pumping station.
Prints of Charlie Russell paintings adorn the walls. Tables in the mess area are covered with images and facts of Montana, along with several images and some facts about both the University of Montana and Montana State University, and a “wrap” was placed on the walls of the mess, with imagery of Glacier National Park. They even have Montana shaped cribbage boards!
A young man from Cut Bank is one of two Montanans who currently serve on the submarine. When he was asked to list where he would like to be stationed, he requested to be aboard the Montana, which at the time wasn’t even commissioned yet. He said that serving on a ship named after Montana makes him proud, and that it motivates him every single day. When asked what it’s like to live in a relatively confined space with a large crew for months on end, he answered, “It’s more normal than you think. It’s like a couple billion dollar, underwater, nuclear powered RV.”
The crew has been dubbed “Vigilantes of the Deep”, a take-off of the Montana Air national Guard’s 120th, known as the “Vigilantes”, and Governor Gianforte has declared that all members of the crew will be honorary citizens of Montana.
There were photos in the article showing some of the “décor”; this sub will be a floating museum! Do they do this kind of stuff with all of the ships that are named after states?? I’ve never heard of it before - maybe Montana is the first one!
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