The U.S. Navy Is Naming a Ship After Idaho

Idaho will have a namesake submarine soon in the U.S Navy.  And a former governor helped launch the USS Idaho earlier this week.

The USS Idaho will be in service with the US Navy in 2023, and right now it's going through a pre-commissioning process that involves all the prep work. It's kind of like chopping the veggies before you make the stir fry.  It's a lot of work and it takes a while, but the result will be great.

Cmdr. Nicholas Meyers has an 18-year career with the Navy, and he's the one who will assume command of Idaho's new namesake ship.  Meyers was honored during a ceremony in Groton, Connecticut last week, and said it's an honor and privilege to lead the Idaho crew into preparations to take custody of the ship.  They'll be ready to fight if they're called upon.

Former Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne was part of a keel-laying ceremony earlier this week on the East Coast.

Idaho’s namesake is the USS Idaho (BB 42), and the Navy Office of Community Outreach says its a historic WWII-era battleship that will become the fifth U.S. Navy vessel named for the state of Idaho.  The first was commissioned in 1864. The newest Idaho submarine will hold a crew of 135 including three native Idahoans who are on track to begin nuclear propulsion training next.

The USS Idaho will be commissioned in 2023.