HELENA — Some crew members of the USS Montana were in Helena on Thursday, offering folks a chance to meet and visit with the submarine’s crew.
“The ship’s been built, and it’s gone on sea trials. It’s been commissioned as a USS, and we’re here to give an update on that. And then visit the state and kind of give back to the state that’s given so much to us,” says the Commanding Officer of the USS Montana Jon Quimby.
Quimby and crew spent the day visiting with the public at the Montana Club and later at Fort Harrison and eventually at the State Capitol. They spent their time answering questions about the capabilities of the vessel and crew. Commander Quimby also planned to present the Lieutenant Governor with the commissioning pennant flown over the USS Montana during the original commissioning ceremony.
“It’s great to come back and kind of show that off to the community, show it off to Montana. All of the people that have donated to Bill, important to give back and show them what they’ve donated to and answer their questions,” says Quimby.
The USS Montana (SSN 794) is a leading-edge, fast-attack submarine destined for stealth missions in the Pacific. The vessel itself was commissioned into the Navy this past summer. It’s more than 370 feet long and weighs in at about 7,800 tons. It took more than seven years to complete construction and sea trials.
The USS Montana is one of the most advanced submarines in the world, sporting advanced stealth capability, as well as being multi-mission capable. It can deploy and detect mines, launch cruise missiles against land targets, and insert entire platoon-size Navy SEAL special operations teams into dangerous areas, all while submerged.
The crew will soon head to Pearl Harbor where they will join the Pacific Fleet.
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