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IDAHO FALLS — A naval submarine bearing Idaho's name will be christened and launched into the Atlantic Ocean during a ceremony next month.
The USS Idaho will officially be unveiled on March 16 at the Electric Boat Shipyard in Groton, Connecticut. The ceremony is open to invited guests only.
Retired Navy Capt. Richard Colburn, a Parma, Idaho, native who is the chairman of the commissioning committee, tells EastIdahoNews.com the 377-foot Virginia-class vessel cost roughly $2.6 billion to build and is expected to have more than 30 years of service life.
It has several distinct features that set it apart from other naval vessels. Among them are 12 vertical launch tomahawks or cruise missiles.
"The missiles have a range of approximately 1,000 miles. It's a precision warhead that's GPS-guided," Colburn says. "They're accurate to the point that it's like, 'Which window of the building would you like the missile to go into?'"
While many new submarines have a similar armament, Colburn says the configuration is much different.
The USS Idaho also has four torpedo tubes and a lockout trunk, a room on the ship that can be closed off from the rest of the vessel. Up to nine crew members at a time can open the hatch and swim into the ocean.
Two of its most important features stem from its design. It has acoustic stealth and a nuclear propulsion system, both of which were developed in the Gem State.
The stealth of the craft has to do with how quiet it is, Colburn says. The Acoustic Research Detachment in Lake Pend Oreille makes sure its nuclear submarines are "the quietest in the world." This makes it hard for enemy ships to detect them, says Colburn.
Idaho's Navy history
This is the fifth naval ship to carry the name USS Idaho. The first was "one of the fastest sailing ships of her day" in the years following the Civil War. Its history is highlighted here.
The two most famous, according to Colburn, are the USS Idaho II and the USS Idaho IV.
"Battleship 42 (as USS Idaho IV was known) was one of the main battleships at Iwo Jima and Okinawa (during World War II), and it was present for the surrender of Japan in Tokyo Bay," Colburn says. "It was in the Atlantic when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. It was then brought to the Pacific and served in the Pacific Theater."
The Pacific Theater saw one of the largest naval battles in history. Nearly 50% of naval forces were killed, one report says.
The new vessel has the original nuclear propulsion system that was created in 1953 at what is now the Idaho National Laboratory.
When the submarine officially launches, it will have a crew of 120 enlisted personnel and 14 officers, according to its website. Its commanding officer will be Randall Leslie of Highland, California. Two of its crew members are from Idaho. Electrician's mate Andrew Leonhardt is from Nampa and sonar technician Robert Boscan is from Hayden. Neither could be reached for comment.
During its years of service, the USS Idaho will be involved in numerous missions, including sea control and freedom of navigation operations in the Middle East, the South China Sea, the Arctic Ocean and other parts of the world.
It will also be involved in land attacks, anti-submarine warfare, mine laying and detection, special ops, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and more.
Colburn says the guns from all the ships that fought in the Pacific, including USS Idaho IV, were refurbished at the now-defunct Naval Ordnance Plant in Pocatello.
In 1942, the U.S. Navy selected about 173,130 acres of land in Arco 60 miles northwest of Pocatello as a naval proving ground, a place to fire and test the reconditioned battle guns taken from the Pocatello plant. This testing site played a vital role in the Pacific victory.
"After World War II, that's what became the Idaho National Lab. If it wasn't for the Navy, there would be no INL," says Colburn. "The first submarine reactor (prototype for nuclear propulsion) was S1W and that was built in Idaho Falls at the site. Fifty percent of all nuclear submariners trained in Idaho between 1949 and 1995, including me."
The federal government started building Virginia-class submarines about 20 years ago. The first ship in the series was the USS Virginia. Twenty-five states have since been represented, and the USS Idaho is the 26th in the class.
Its design and the iconography of its crest (logo) is what Colburn says makes it "truly an Idaho ship." He's excited about its commission and the ways it will build upon the Gem State's naval history.
"The Navy is part of Idaho's DNA," he says. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a ship to be named for our state. We're bringing together a great state and a great ship to celebrate Idaho's Navy legacy."
