USS Montana Committee gives presentation in Havre

The USS Montana Commissioning Committee gave a presentation to area residents at Montana State University-Northern Wednesday night about the submarine that is their namesake, one that will be the first ship commissioned as the USS Montana in more than 100 years.

Committee Chair Bill Whitsitt led the presentation where he provided details on the ship and its upcoming commission, his committee's work, and he presented the bell that will be aboard the ship, a replica of the bell on the original USS Montana back in 1908.

Whitsitt said the new ship, a Virginia-class fast-attack submarine, will not officially be the USS Montana until it is commissioned in two months, but the committee has been working to build connections between its future crew and Montanans, with the mission of creating a support network for them and their ship for its 30-year lifespan.

He said the ship is on the leading edge of military technology, and it will be one of the most stealthy and lethal multi-mission ships in the world, boasting remarkable versatility and the ability to operate in shallow waters.

He said the ship will be an asset to the U.S. in a world that is becoming more volatile, able to perform intelligence gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting, as well as provide security to aircraft carriers, sea lanes and expeditionary strike groups.

Whitsitt said the ship is equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles, can lay and detect mines, and deploy and recover military personnel underwater.

As a nuclear-electric vessel that produces its own breathable air and drinkable water it can stay submerged for as long as the crew has food, he said, which can last months if needed.

He said the creation of this ship is part of an effort to increase the number of submarines the U.S. Navy has, which has been declining since 2015 as more and more older submarines reach the end of their lifespans.

He said this increase is partially in response to the advancing technology of U.S. adversaries around the world, and warned that while their submarines may not be nuclear, they are no less stealthy or lethal, they just have less range than those of the U.S.

During the presentation Whitsitt was asked about some of the vessel's other capabilities and features, like its speed, maximum depth and propulsion system, but he said he had to keep some of its capabilities secret.

Great questions that aren't going to be answered in public, he said.

A history of canceled USS Montanas

The vessel isn't the first USS Montana, Whitsitt said, but it is the first in a very long time.

In 1908, Armored Cruiser 13 was commissioned as the USS Montana, but since then two potential USS Montana's saw their construction canceled.

One USS Montana was canceled in the immediate aftermath of World War I because its construction would have caused the fleet it was part of to exceed limits placed on it by a treaty.

Another USS Montana, which would have been in the largest battleship class in the world at the time, was planned to be commissioned in 1943. But after the attacks on Pearl Harbor the military's priorities switched to developing the fastest aircraft carriers they could possibly make, ones the USS Montana wouldn't have been able to keep up with, and the project was canceled again, leaving Montana the only state without a ship named after it at the time.

An award-winning ship and crew

Whitsitt said a total of 10,000 people contributed in some way to the building of the ship and won a prestigious Battle Effectiveness Award as the only ship in its fleet to make it from the shipyard to the U.S. Navy with such high marks and such a highly qualified crew.

The crew of the ship was a big topic of the presentation, with Whitsitt touting their accomplishments, promotions and devotion.

He said part of his committee's job is finding support for the crew with the state that is the ship's namesake and in their time in Montana many have stepped forward to do just that.

"It's warmed my heart as we've gone around the state to meetings like this," he said. " ... The support, the love those crew member feel. And we know, as patriots, how important it is it have someone back home who's praying for you and supporting you."

Whitsitt said the U.S. Navy has seen an increase in women volunteering to be submariners and while mixed-gender submarine crews are becoming increasingly common, the Montana will have an all-male crew.

He said mixed-gender crews don't really have any problems beyond logistics, as it can sometimes be difficult to arrange crews so all staterooms are occupied by three people of the same gender and career path, so they can be easily transferred in and out.

He said many people and companies have pledged their support to the ship, contributing financially to parts of the ship that the U.S. Navy can't legally or practically pay for.

One way to support the ship and crew Whitsitt talked about was getting USS Montana vanity license plates, which he said are available online and at county treasurer's offices and have already become a popular item for collectors.

He also talked about the committee itself, which he said is guided by its voting members, but anyone can sign up to be a part of it with no dues or obligations.

Montana symbolism

Another subject of the presentation was the sheer amount of Montana-related symbolism and iconography the ship contains.

Whitsitt said the ship's emblem is filled to brim with symbolism, including a gold star to honor the previous USS Montana, a background depicting Glacier National Park, the outline of a grizzly bear within the ship's wake and a pair of eagle feathers to honor Native American service men.

He said they wanted to make sure they included something to acknowledge Native Americans as so many of them are proud veterans, and their communities have always been very supportive.

But one of the most important aspects of the ship's emblem, he said were the numbers 3-7-77, the calling card of the Montana Vigilantes of the late 1800s.

"The crew has decided that they are going to become the vigilantes of the deep," he said.

He said the mess area also features a panoramic depiction of Glacier and the crew has decided they want to name the various areas of the ship after places in Montana.

Whitsitt said they already have a spot named after Lewistown, and he has it on good authority that one area will have Havre as its namesake.

The bell and upcoming commissioning

One of the main focuses of the presentation was the bell, a replica of the one that was on the original USS Montana in 1904 and one Whitsitt says symbolizes the connection between the state of Montana and the U.S. Navy.

He said the bell is partially made with elements from Montana as well as from gold and silver pins of sailors.

He said the commissioning for the ship is June 25 with tours and a celebration of the ship taking place on the previous day.

Whitsitt said anyone interested in going to these events should get in touch so they can get an invitation from the U.S. Navy.