We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
The Virginia Class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine USS MONTANA (SSN 794) just recently joined the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet. Its new homeport is Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Oahu, Hawaii. Since arrival at Pearl Harbor, the warship and its crew have been exceptionally busy.
During and immediately following its transition, there have been totally understandable periods when operational and other requirements, plus a three-hour time difference with Montana, have made it difficult or impossible to plan for general communications with the MONTANA.
However, knowing of Big Sky Country's high interest in SSN 794 and her crew, the MONTANA's Captain, CDR John Gilligan, offered to respond electronically as soon as possible to any questions the USS Montana Committee might submit.
We are exceedingly grateful for the offer. You'll find our questions and CDR Gilligan's responses below. We know that you'll find in them the reasons Committee members and all Montanans are so proud of the officers and enlisted sailors of our namesake warship.
Montanans are very proud and excited about the USS MONTANA's now being part of the Pacific Fleet and homeported at Pearl Harbor. How does it feel for you as the Captain of this amazing warship and crew?
It feels great to be the Captain of this amazing warship. I love my job. I couldn't be happier with the ship or her crew.
Getting the team out to Pearl Harbor, getting the Sailors' families out to Hawaii, and getting everyone together again was a huge milestone for the MONTANA community.
Pearl Harbor is a great place to be a submariner. The entire shore establishment, including Submarine Squadron One and Submarine Readiness Squadron 33, is welcoming, supportive, and efficient. The training and maintenance facilities available in Pearl Harbor are the best in the world. The weather's always great in Hawaii!
We have the privilege to sail one of the newest warships in the Fleet into the Indo-Pacific, on the nation's most important missions. Our technologies and capabilities are stacked up to strengthen and sustain deterrence in our most dynamic theater. This is every commanding officer's dream and I'm living it every day.
Can you tell us a bit about the actual voyage that took the MONTANA from Norfolk, Virginia, to Hawaii? How many miles did SSN 794 travel? Over how many days? Was most of that submerged? And about how many crew members made the trip on board?
About 140 of us left Naval Station Norfolk on 16 Nov 2024 and we arrived, more than 10,000 nautical miles later, in Pearl Harbor, HI on 23 Dec 2024. Most of the journey was submerged. On the way, we conducted training, testing, and other routine operations, getting the crew used to the pace of life on an underway submarine again after our long period in the shipyard conducting post-shakedown availability maintenance.
MONTANA had her first port visit since redelivery to the Navy, the first of hopefully many, when we stopped at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in St. Mary's, GA. The crew had a great time in their first liberty port together and really bonded as a team. After Kings Bay, we cut across the Caribbean. The crew will get nice certificates for the course we followed on that transit, as, in a Navy tradition similar to becoming a "Shellback" for crossing the equator or a "Blue Nose" for going north of the Arctic Circle, the crew became members of the Order of the Spanish Main for sailing the Caribbean We finally arrived in Hawaii just in time to meet up with our families before Christmas. And, thanks to the wonders of nuclear power, we never had to stop for gas!
We saw and appreciated the wonderful photos of the MONTANA's arrival at Pearl Harbor, with family greetings. How many crew members' families went to Hawaii ahead of the actual arrival of the submarine, and what were they able to do to help prepare for the others?
A fairly large portion of the families went out ahead of the boat to Hawaii, some of them months ahead and others arriving just before the boat. After we arrived, we had a holiday stand down followed immediately by a "nesting period" where we dedicated time for the crew to move themselves, their families, and their household goods if they hadn't already. The crew also had to pick up their cars, move in to new places, enroll kids in school, figure out where the grocery store is, all the normal things you have to do when you move. We carved out some time to get those important things done.
Our wonderful Ombudsman was one of the family members who went out ahead of the boat. She helped us take care of our Sailors and families through the transition, always ensuring our Executive Officer, Chief of the Boat, and I were aware of hiccups so we could fix them and working with our Squadron staff to keep the support flowing while we were underway. Our Family Readiness Group has made the transition to Hawaii and is rapidly ramping up their activities for our families on Oahu.
Are most of the families now in Hawaii? And are most of them going to live in Navy housing at Pearl Harbor, or will they find other local housing? What is the school situation for crew children?
Most of the families who are going to move to Hawaii have already. Some folks with a short time remaining on board will move their families directly to their next duty station. Others chose to stay where they were for a variety of personal or professional reasons. Many of the families have moved into Navy housing. Some moved into military housing offered by our sister services. My family and I actually took a house in Army housing for an easier commute to our kid's school. Others have taken places out in town.
The crew's children are settled into a variety of public and private schools as it works best for each individual family. My kids were excited to start at their new school and settled in right away. They made a ton of new friends at school and in our new neighborhood and are having a good time.
With the homeport move, how have crew members done at accomplishing what must be one of their most important missions thus far, safely and efficiently? Do you have examples of how crew members may have excelled? And will some have attained higher ranks, dolphin pins, or other awards along the way?
The crew continues to excel. Since we completed our post-shakedown availability in November, twelve of my Sailors have completed their Submarine qualifications and earned their fish (we call the Submarine Warfare insignia "fish" or "dolphins"), eleven crew members have advanced a pay grade, and we've also completed more than 90 individual watch station qualifications.
Admiral Koehler, Commander, US Pacific Fleet, recently toured MONTANA and while on board presented silver dolphins to my Independent Duty Corpsman HM1(AW/SW/SS) Rashad Beamon. Doc certainly appreciated the Admiral taking the time to recognize him personally. I've also had the pleasure of awarding ten Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals and presenting two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals to my folks for exceptional performance.
Most recently, ETN3 Eric Noriega and MMA1 Jakob Duncan earned Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals for conducting underway repairs to important pieces of ship's equipment. MONTANA is an incredibly complex machine and, like any high-performance vehicle, needs occasional love and attention in the form of maintenance. ETN3's repairs are a great example of the sense of teamwork MONTANA's crew has. Petty Officer Noriega is a nuclear power-trained Reactor Control electronics technician. He has additional training in delicate solder repairs and he used his special skills to help Radio division restore a piece of the ship's communications equipment. The crew always support each other and get the mission done.
What kinds of things will the crew be doing now as they prepare for deployments, or missions they may be called upon to perform?
Now that we're out in the Pacific, we're ready to meet our Nation's call. There's a variety of things we do to support the national security interests and prosperity of the United States and our allies and partners, and we stand ready for prompt and sustained combat incident to operations at sea. We're constantly training, both through practicing aboard the ship and through the courses, schools, and simulators available at Naval Submarine Training Center Pacific.
We hone our craft and maintain our ship so we'll be ready to fight and win if needed.
We're also getting ready to operate forward to build familiarity with areas in which we may one day need to fight, provide presence to deter our adversaries and assure our allies, and conduct every Sailor's favorite mission-naval diplomacy. Through port visits we show the flag, support our partners, and build the cross-cultural ties that encourage Indo-Pacific nations to partner with us to foster security and prosperity for all who live and transit in the region. Plus, we get to spend some of our money in the local economy enjoying the food and picking up souvenirs, which is always appreciated by our hosts.
We read and hear about the very exciting joint Australia-United
Kingdom-United States "AUKUS" program focused around the Virginia Class submarines like the MONTANA. Can you say a few things about the program's importance?
The support of our allies and partners is the crucial advantage America has over all of its adversaries. Our allies work tirelessly alongside us to maintain the rules-based international order that's brought so much prosperity to the US and the world since the end of World War II. Our network of alliances, from NATO to the Philippines, maintains the conditions for global stability. Demonstrated interoperability and binding mutual defense commitments with South Korea and Japan deter adversaries' aggression every day. In this world where America's allies are so important to her success, the AUKUS program is crucial. This program brings us even closer together with our longstanding allies in Great Britain and Australia and helps build an amazing new capability in Australia. Australia possessing a sovereign nuclear powered submarine capability – along with associated repair and refit facilities – will be a significant force multiplier for us, complicating adversary decision making, deterring aggression, and ensuring that if called on to fight we will win. The crew and I are excited to be a part of it.
Since there is already some joint training and VCS maintenance in
Australia, is it possible that the MONTANA could see some Australian Navy personnel as members of her crew for periods of time? (And know that they would be welcome also when we're able to plan for more crew visits to Big Sky Country!)
We already have!
Our first two Royal Australian Navy Officers reported aboard just before our homeport shift and our first RAN enlisted Sailors met us on the pier when we arrived in Pearl, with more on the way. They're fully integrated members of the crew; RAN and USN crew members serve alongside each other without any distinction.
I had the privilege of hosting Australia's Secretary of the Department of Defence Greg Moriarty aboard MONTANA a few weeks ago and I was able to tell him how great his countrymen are doing, how well they've settled in, and how happy I am to have them on my crew.
Is there anything that you would like to suggest to us, particularly for families and single sailors, as the USS Montana Committee continues its SSN 794 long-term support work?
We appreciate everything you do for the boat. The crew loves our war song, tying us to Montana's tribes, which the USS Montana Committee facilitated for us. We play it regularly over the announcing circuit as we man battle stations or just need to pump up the crew. The members of the Bigfork Piecemakers Quilt Guild who make the wonderful baby blankets for new arrivals to the MONTANA family are thoroughly appreciated. We love the ties we've built between MONTANA the boat and Montana the state and appreciate the long-term commitment to the crew the committee demonstrated by transitioning from the Commissioning Committee to the permanent USS Montana Committee. We look forward to continuing this great relationship.
Is there anything you would like for us to pass along from you to all Montanans?
The crew and I want to extend our heartfelt thanks for the continuing support of our namesake state and the sense of community that support brings. We're proud to represent Montana and proud to be sailing the Pacific on your behalf. I'll end the same way we end our meetings and briefs on board, by proudly shouting our rallying cry and motto-BIG SKY!
