Our very own US Navy submarine representing the state of Montana is still awaiting a commissioning date but was officially launched earlier this month. Later this week the captain of the boat himself will join Governor Greg Gianforte (R-MT) for an update from the Montana state capitol.

At 5 p.m. on Wednesday the state's legislative leadership is hosting a special event to hear an update on the future of the USS Montana and her crew from Captain Michael Delaney. Governor Gianforte will introduce Delaney who will be speaking remotely due to the intense construction and training schedule for the crew.

The event will be held in the Old Supreme Court Chamber and will feature the ship's bell that will be presented to the crew upon commissioning, according to the USS Montana Committee.

The bell is a submarine-sized replica of the bell from the first and only other USS MONTANA, Armored Cruiser Number 13 commissioned in 1908. The bell provides an especially unique connection between the Navy and Montana. Our state motto, Oro y Plata, is Spanish for Gold and Silver. Melted into the bell are gold and silver dolphin pins worn by qualified submariners, gold by officers and silver by enlisted sailors. And the bell also has in it real Montana gold and silver.

If you can't make it to the event in person, it will be streamed live on the Montana Legislature's website, which you can find by clicking here. https://www.leg.mt.gov/audio-video/

Here's what USS Montana Committee Chair Bill Whitsitt told KGVO Radio's Peter Christian earlier this month:

Whitsitt said the USS Montana is being outfitted with her full weapons package and the crew has already been hard at work in their new boat.

“She will be completed with all of her weapons systems and all of the finishing to be done,” he said. “She's about 92% complete as of this conversation, and the crew has been under intense training on all the systems aboard the vessel. For the better part of a year they've actually, even though they were onshore in a big facility, they've been pulling 24/7 watches on the nuclear reactor because that has been fueled and undergoing testing for quite some time.”

 

 

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