The Blog

Start of construction of the future USS MONTANA was officially marked in a ceremony at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia on May 16, 2018. With a backdrop of a section of MONTANA’s hull, the ceremony included the traditional welding of the initials (in this case, SRJ) of ship sponsor Sally Jewell onto a steel plate that will be affixed to … Read More

More Montanans will be able to see and hear the latest news about the future USS MONTANA over the next several weeks. Presentations in Billings, Colstrip, Lewistown, Miles City, and Sidney will focus on the construction and capabilities of the Virginia Class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine that will bear our state’s name. A bonus will be first looks at the … Read More

The future USS MONTANA is receiving attention across Big Sky Country as a result of news media coverage of the March 22 announcement of the warship’s first command team. An example of the media coverage on the Montana Television Network may be found here, in a report by KXLH’s Jonathan Ambarian.

  A highly-experienced leadership team for the future USS MONTANA was announced on March 22, 2018 by the U.S. Navy. The Commanding Officer is Commander Michael Delaney. The Executive Officer (or second in command) is Lieutenant Commander Jeffrey Kahn. The Chief of the Boat (or senior enlisted advisor) is Senior Chief Michael Dassau. As part of the Navy announcement, Commander … Read More

Huckleberry jam, a Butte copper Moscow Mule cup, a “406” baseball cap, and other products were in a Montana-themed gift basket sold by auction in Norfolk, Virginia on February 24. The auction event was sponsored by a Navy spouses’ non-profit association with members including some whose husbands have already been assigned to the future USS MONTANA. Proceeds went to the … Read More

Several presentations to community groups and military veterans in Butte and Missoula on February 20 & 21 provided construction status updates on PCU (for Pre-Commissioning Unit) MONTANA SSN 794. Attendees learned about the need for new Virginia Class nuclear fast attack submarines, including MONTANA. Among the reasons for building two of the new class of boats each year are the … Read More

This week PCU MONTANA SSN 794 (the eventual USS MONTANA) is officially 41.85 complete, according to Newport News Shipbuilding and Navy personnel. A recent article in the Great Falls Tribune has more detail on the status, based on a USS Montana Committee presentation to the statewide Veterans of Foreign Wars leaders. Other presentations are scheduled in the near future and … Read More

The USS Montana Committee has speakers available for community groups whose members want to learn more about, or receive updates on, the Virginia Class nuclear attack submarine that will bear our state’s name. These speakers can also explain how Montanans can join the Committee

As the pieces of the future USS MONTANA continue to come together at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, the crew is beginning to come together as well. So far, of the expected 130-or-so core crew members, a half dozen of the early selectees are from, or have connections to, Montana! We’ll have more on these individuals in the future, as … Read More

As the USS Montana Committee works toward fulfilling its mission in support of the commissioning and crew of a new Virginia Class nuclear attack submarine (currently the under-construction pre-commissioning unit, or PCU, SSN 794) that will carry our state’s name, its members have a keen awareness of the legacy our namesake warship’s service will build upon. That legacy is tied … Read More