(water splashing) - [Narrator] When you see a beautiful Montana Lake, you might think of a fishing boat, kayak or canoe.

You probably don't think of a submarine.

(excited music) This is the story of the USS Montana and a Montana story of the rich naval heritage that few know.

- Con, bridge, stop shop.

- [Narrator] In this program, we will see that submarine and we will discover quite an unknown history going back almost to statehood.

We'll experience all the pomp and circumstance that Montana could muster.

It started in 1906 when the Navy called its newest ship, armored cruiser number 13, the USS Montana.

- Montana was very gung-ho about USS Montana especially right before the launch.

Montana had just turned 17 years old in 1906, and so to be recognized by the United States Navy was a great honor to the state.

- [Narrator] We'll also show Montana building on its reputation with the Navy over a century later.

That's when the Navy again builds its best.

This time, it would be a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine with a proud name the USS Montana SSN 794.

- So what we all strive to do is get this thing out so the Navy can do what it's gotta do and protect our country.

(dramatic music) (bottle shattering) (crowd cheering) - [Narrator] And another piece of Montana and naval history makes a smashing debut.

- I hereby place United States ship, Montana in commission.

May God bless and guide this warship and all who sail in her.

- [Narrator] This is also a story about a committee of Montanans doing what Montanans always do, making strangers feel at home.

- We want them to understand our history, our culture, the courage of Montanans that they can take with them wherever they are.

- [Narrator] Again, it's been like that for over a century.

(excited music) Montana, Montana, the Glory of the Seas.

(lively music) Our story of the armored cruiser, ACR-13 USS Montana begins with a time-honored tradition of selecting a woman to sponsor and christen a new ship end.

In 1906, the Navy selected Montana's bell of society.

Miss Minnie Conrad, she would elegantly welcome the first USS Montana-named Ship.

Christenings were big formal affairs where a ship is officially given a name.

Tradition holds that the crew will respect a ship more if she has an official name.

And thus, the USS Montana would be introduced into society by the best of Montana society.

- The Conrad family was very prominent in Montana.

They were among the wealthiest.

And Minnie Conrad, the daughter of William G. Conrad, was hand selected by the first governor of Montana, Joseph Toole to christen the vessel - [Narrator] Newspapers all over the country covered the christening, not just as a military story, but a story that was likened to coverage of high society parties.

- Thousands were in attendance alongside the Montana delegation.

Minnie Conrad was at the forefront of it all, wearing a fine dress, a very nice hat.

She was very well-dressed, had a sash and she was with flowers as well as the champagne to finally christen the vessel itself.

- [Narrator] 25-year-old Minnie Conrad represented her prominent family and father, William Conrad with refined grace.

- He had many business interests.

He was into banking, ranching, mining, as well as a successful businessman in his own right in Fort Benton where he got his start and would soon build his empire from there.

So by the time of the christening in 1906, they were indeed a very prominent family and William G. Conrad was well on his way to being a millionaire at that point.

- [Narrator] It was simply Montana putting its best and fanciest foot forward at a time the new state was coming of age.

Now to quote the Virginian Pilot Newspaper of 1906, "The sponsor drew back her arm without a moment's hesitation and sent the bottle smashing against the steel wall.

The bottle broke and spilled its sparkling contents over the gleaming surface of the ship.

While Miss Conrad exclaimed softly and almost inaudibly, 'I name thee Montana."

- 1906 to 1908.

Montana was a fairly new state.

We'd been a state for less than two decades and so I think we Montanans felt like they maybe still had a little something to prove, that they were in fact, you know, worthy of being a full-fledged state and worthy of being part of the union.

- Montana was still very sparsely populated but to have this honor, it did, even for the small size of the population, there was a great deal of patriotic fervor over the ship being built, especially in the Montana press.

(lively music) - [Narrator] To understand just how important this was, we must look at the times.

This was a new era for the state and for the Navy.

(excited music) The world seas were now home to the United States Navy, a force that once mainly just protected our harbors and shores.

It was now to be reckoned with as a world power with world-class ships.

The 504-foot long USS Montana was the height of technology.

She could steam 16,000 tons of ship guns, cargo, and men anywhere in the world.

She would be called the Queen of the Navy by the amazed reporters who saw the ship.

After all, it had been less than 40 years since the first rather primitive ironclad ships joined the mostly wooden boats of the Civil War era.

- [Aaron] The advancements of Montana compared to Civil War era ships was incredible.

It would've looked like a gigantic amalgamation of the ironclad vessels that were there, the USS Monitor and the Merrimack or Virginia.

- [Narrator] And on that December, 1906 day, history was made.

She's off.

All restraining bonds being removed, the new ship after a moment started on her short but momentous journey down the tallow trail leading to the water.

(lively music) The cruiser had a speed of 22 knots or just over 25 miles per hour with smoke belching from all four of her stacks.

From the 2,000 tons of coal she was designed to carry.

The ship was ready for war with four 10-inch, 16 six-inch and 22 three-inch guns, plus four torpedo tubes.

It wasn't just the guns that made the new ship unlike anything ever seen before.

It now took a small city of sailors to run her.

The Montana cruiser carried, fed, and served a crew of over 900 men traveling around the world to protect their country.

The USS Montana and three sister ships made up the famed Tennessee class ships.

They were the largest and last armored American cruisers ever designed.

The armor was thinner to make the ships faster than any cruisers before them.

America was amazed with the 20th century ideas aboard our fighting ships.

The Chicago Tribune in 1905 wrote that Americans could brag that the USS Montana had the power of 100 locomotives.

No doubt every American considered a locomotive, the most powerful device ever built to that time.

And could people even comprehend the power of 100 locomotives that would've stretched 2 1/2 miles down a track?

There was more than power in the guns that made the Montana and her sisters the state of the art and the naval fleet - Compared to their contemporaries, they were leaps and bounds ahead of them in terms of technology.

- [Narrator] The same new century that to businesses and homes brought unbelievable communication to our ships at sea.

The Navy always knew where the USS Montana was anywhere on earth and the captain knew where every sailor was at all times anywhere on the ship.

The Montana record of Helena wrote, "The average land lover knows little, if anything, about the system of communication It may be surprising to many that two miles of brass speaking tubes, nine miles of iron conduit pipe and 80 miles of wire will be used."

How much did all this speed firepower and technology cost?

It was a surprise to the Navy.

The USS Montana seemed to be as much of a bargain as it was a powerhouse.

Yes, even before being built to what the world saw as that world class ship, the USS Montana was a bargain.

Bids on cruisers are very low.

The Newport News Shipbuilding company said it would build the USS Montana for $3.5 million in 1904.

Now that's just over $100 million today.

Angie was a quick build.

It had been just a year since the keel was laid down in 1905 to when Minnie Conrad christened her in 1906.

And now to win the Navy commissioned her as a part of the fleet in 1908 to start an adventurous career of importance and danger.

(jazz music) This is not to say the high society type stories were over.

The USS Montana would carry out to sea a 19-piece ornate silver service.

It was made with 1,600 ounces of silver.

It included a giant punch bowl to go along with a giant ship.

A publicity photo at the time showed that a baby could fit in it.

The Silver Service also had a pair of fruit baskets, candle holders, and a cigar box for after-dinner use.

Over 100 years later, they still shine at the Montana Historical Society Museum.

- And the Silver Service reflected some of Montana history.

It showcased engravings that had Charlie Russell's artwork, Paxton's artwork, as well as the state seal and the state flag.

- It was very important that they felt like they put their best foot forward and they wanted something that would, you know, was befitting of Montana, befitting of Montana's dignity.

Would impress the important people who would be using the Silver Service when they were aboard the ship.

So yes, I think it was something that Montanans were very enthusiastic about.

It wasn't for the sailors' use, it was for dignitaries.

If they admiral came on board, you wanted to make sure you had the proper silver service.

I believe President Taft was served from the Silver Service, so it wasn't the everyday sailor who was using this.

They might have had to polish it to get ready for the dignitaries who were visiting, but it was only used for special guests and special occasions.

(bell chiming) - [Narrator] One other historical and important piece of hardware that was carried to sea was the ship's bell.

Now the ship's bell was vital to operate in the modern cruiser.

It is on permanent display at the University of Montana.

The newspaper said, "It was struck half hourly day and night.

One stroke being added for each half hour until eight is reached.

When the count begins a one bell.

The bell could be heard all over the ship from the bow.

'Eight bells and the chronometers wound, sir.'

the captain replies, 'Very well, make it so."

And it was so.

The latest gossip, the Montana was the latest contribution to the Navy, all under the command of Captain Alfred Reynolds, Montana joined her sister ship the North Carolina and headed to the new Panama Canal.

The canal was now one of the most important waterways in the world, giving passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

The first orders were to prepare for an important guest, President-Elect The crew was well traveled such as to Havana, Cuba.

And then on to Gibraltar and into the Mediterranean.

Montanans loved hearing about what the state's namesake ship was doing.

- [Aaron] With the amount of articles and front page pieces on the ship's progress, there is a strong likelihood that many Montanans had the opportunity to follow along.

- And for the first several years, those newspapers were filled with trips back and forth across the Atlantic.

All to protect American interests in the Mediterranean and places such as Turkey and the Ottoman Empire.

The US was now heavily involved in world trade and the USS Montana was an important of an effort to see that our markets were stabilized.

- When I think about the first USS Montana, I think, "Wow, those sailors must have really been special as well."

Because that cruiser served in the Mediterranean.

The weather had to be hot.

There was no air conditioning.

It was cold, fired, dirty.

It went long distances at speeds that were less than than many vessels today are able to go.

So more time getting to where it needed to go.

- [Narrator] It was no vacation, - [Aaron] Not a course for luxury.

No, they weren't on a pleasure cruise by any means.

It was for bread and built for one purpose, to protect the coastlines and be a adversary to other ships at sea.

- [Narrator] The cross-oceanic trips were tough - And the Journal of Dawson Painter, he described the ship as being very utilitarian.

There was always, especially in the Atlantic, there was constant need to chip away at ice, especially on the castle of the ship as well as the need to recoil the ship.

He described shoveling with a number of the crew over 500 tons of coal in one day to refuel the ship, - [Narrator] The Navy's orders to help stabilize the world meant to return to our hemisphere.

She was now sent to Mexico for one of her first military engagements and what would become a most poignant sailing In 1914.

The captain on the historic voyage was famed Navy Officer Louis McCoy Nulton.

He was later superintendent of the Naval Academy and a four-star admiral.

The USS Montana voyage was also part of Nulton's career journey to one day being awarded the Navy Cross.

The ship brought troops to a troubled country in a revolution.

It was a time of strained relations between the United States and Mexico.

The USS Montana had ferried marines, who along with sailors, saw combat and brought back service members who died in the fight.

(ethereal music) In all 17 of the 22 dead, mostly sailors, came back to the United States on the USS Montana.

(ethereal music) - [Aaron] And Montana did have the solemn duty of carrying back 17 sailors and marines to New York City.

And when she arrived, the docks were full of people and it was a very quiet and solemn affair.

As they were receiving back the troops who had fallen.

(ethereal music) (excited music) - [Narrator] It would now be an unstable time in the world.

The USS Montana would find herself supporting As World War I was around the corner.

Cruisers were fast and could carry almost 1,000 troops to where they were needed.

(lively music) The USS Montana served the country with pride during the war.

(festive music) And the final duties for the post-war period included bringing the troops back home.

The ship was met with bands as the troops returned.

(festive music) Montana had done her job.

It would be the end.

The Montana would be renamed the USS Missoula in 1920 and shortly after, she would be decommissioned.

(festive music) She really was quite a ship, from her high tech and high society launch to her worldwide naval service.

She was known to the world in postcards, newspaper articles, and even on a foreign country stamps.

And to Montanans, she was a piece of history that should not be forgotten.

- I feel about the original USS Montana.

Very prideful.

It's a fascinating ship and to see how it was perceived in the Montana newspapers and the press, it's incredible to see that Montana was recognized with such state-of-the-art shipbuilding at the time and this massive warship, it was just incredibly large.

It was a floating fortress at sea.

(gentle music) - This wasn't the only time the state had its name on the high seas a century ago.

The US army took over a cargo ship called the SS Montanan and put her into military service in 1917.

She would serve the Navy for a year before being torpedoed and sunk outside of France.

(gentle music) Ironically, the sinking of the Montanan was witnessed by a Montanan from Great Falls.

Navy Signalman John J. Beeler said, "I had just got through with a semaphore message and was telling the signalman I was from Montana when up she went."

There was also to be a battleship, USS Montana.

Her keel was laid down in 1920, but canceled by a treaty.

In 1940, the name Montana was assigned to a ship to lead a whole Montana class of giant battleships.

New wartime priorities canceled the production before construction began.

(festive music) - Montana, attention.

(yelling indistinctly) - [Narrator] But the name "Montana" would not remain dormant.

It would come back in a big way.

In 2015, the proud heritage of the USS Montana name would be given to the latest Virginia class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine.

- There's a patriotic fervor that occurred with the launching and christening of as well as with our current fast attack submarine.

And I think that's partly because much who are waiting to be recognized for being a part of the union, we have been waiting for another ship to be named after Montana and it's been almost 100 years since the decommissioning of USS Montana in 1921.

And so this was a great honor to have it once more.

- [Narrator] The Virginia class is the Navy's state-of-the-art submarine fleet designed for vital military needs.

Attack, defend, and gather intelligence.

Oh, by the way, submarines are technically ships, but they're affectionately called boats by those who sail them.

So the USS Montana boat is far more than you have probably seen in past submarine movies.

(dramatic music) There is no periscope.

It's a high tech photonics mast.

The Virginia class submarines use cameras and fiber optics.

(dramatic music) And full speed ahead for the USS Montana is officially more than 25 knots submerged that's about 29 miles per hour.

And the Montana can dive to more than 800 feet below the surface and stay under the water for 90 days or more.

She could stay under water indefinitely if not for the need to restock food and do any required maintenance.

(engine hissing) (explosion booming) (dramatic music) At the hearts of the fast attack submarine fleet are 12 vertical missile launch tubes for tomahawk land attack cruise missiles, and four torpedo tubes.

(dramatic music) With all of their intelligence-gathering Virginia class submarines, including the Montana, are known for their exceptional stealth.

(dramatic music) All that's packed into 377 feet of boat.

The men and women who are trained to crew the Virginia class boats must be the best.

One thing technology could not provide was the need for the Navy's tradition and heritage of support from the namesake community.

The state of Montana answered in a big and enthusiastic way.

- When we learned that there wasn't a USS Montana Commissioning Committee, we just formed a nonprofit corporation.

We got the blessing of the governor and the legislature and we were good to go.

And we thought it's appropriate for us, even though we're a landlocked state, not to let those that have the ocean views get ahead of us and do better for their sailors than we could do for ours.

- [Narrator] Construction on the USS Montana then started.

Now in Navy terms, the boat was laid down in 2018 in Newport News, Virginia.

That's 2,211 miles away from the State of Montana.

The USS Montana Committee was already embracing its mission in the landlocked state.

- Supporting the submarine and the crew is all about making sure that those sailors who are in harm's way for us potentially know that there are patriots in Montana who support them, who pray for them, and who want them to succeed for all of us.

- [Narrator] The committee members knew they couldn't take the State of Montana to the sailors, so they plan to take the sailors to Montana.

They started the visits about the time that workers were first starting to build the boat.

The committee also knew it would take years to just cover the 145,000 square miles of Montana.

And the committee members knew they would take those years to reach the incredible diversity of the state.

It would be quite a task and they were excited to get started.

Meanwhile, the welders and other workers and Newport News were taking years to build the state-of-the-art boat.

It was a major process.

Barges from General Dynamics electric boat in Connecticut brought some big sections of the submarine down the East Coast to Virginia.

- Team effort here is fantastic.

From the painters to the fitters, the the riggers, I mean everybody comes together down here on the pier.

- [Narrator] They knew that task at hand.

- I can't count how many steps that it takes for us as ship builders to build one of the greatest war fighting machines in the world and be able to deliver to our Navy is amazing.

- [Narrator] And the name Montana was suddenly becoming paramount on the Virginia Coast.

- First time you hear about USS Montana, the first thing I think of is the mountains out there in Montana.

The horizon.

And it's like standing on the peak and just saying, you know, delivering freedom.

And that's what this boat is all about.

Delivering freedom to other countries and maintaining freedom for ourselves.

- [Narrator] Builders were devoted to the cause.

- I've touched this boat, I've worked on this boat.

I've put my all into this boat.

I just come in here every day, you know, be confident and think about the people that are going to be living on this boat and you know, fighting for our country - And to be a part of something like that.

I can't even put that into words to just express.

It's an experience though, and it's a journey that I wouldn't trade for anything else that I've ever had to do in my life.

- [Narrator] Within three years, USS Montana had become a boat.

Oh, it was certainly more than nuts and bolts.

Naval tradition had been with her the whole way.

She had a sponsor just as the cruiser Montana had over a century earlier.

That honor would be given to Sally Jewell.

She was secretary of the Interior at the time of announcing the USS Montana submarine in 2015.

Secretary Jewell first made her mark with her welded initials on the keel plate in 2018.

Even as the boat was being built, the crew for the Montana was being selected.

The submarines are elite.

- This is the middle submariners are made of, and today, we welcome another tribe mix.

- [Narrator] The proud have earned their dolphin pin that signifies that they are qualified submariners.

(all applauding) Those not already wearing the pin will work to earn one.

The process might take a year.

- Being the best is the only way we guarantee that we come home safe and that our families remain safe back here.

(dramatic music) - [Narrator] Indeed, the Montana will have those among the best of the best.

It's tough training to get to where the dolphin.

It's practice and rigorous testing on mastering submarine systems, operations and construction.

They will use their skills and knowledge every day in one of the most technically advanced boats in the world.

- Rig for fire and general emergency.

- Fire!

- [Narrator] And they will know how to react in about every crisis that they could face in today's world.

Dolphins are fitting for these sailors insignia, given they're powerful, graceful diving, surfacing, and becoming almost one with a sea.

These will be the people who crew the USS Montana.

And the USS Montana Committee made sure the crew members knew Montana, both as their new boat and as their adopted namesake state.

- The sailors are taken to small communities, large communities.

They go to Indian reservations.

They see branches and farms and our recreational areas and the beauty of Montana and they talk to Montanans.

That's most important for them to look one another in the eye and understand each other and be able to feel that Montana is part of them and for them to feel their part of our great state - [Narrator] And to make sure they were part of the great state.

They visited about every part of the state and they would take part in about every event we know to be Montana.

Such as of course, a parade in Kalispell.

- [Announcer] A member of the future of the USS Montana.

- [Narrator] A rodeo, a day in Glacier Park, a visit to Helena and the state capitol and to see the old Cruiser Montana Silver Service plus lunch and a tour.

Oh, and you need to see Virginia City to see the state.

They visited Great falls.

They ate dinner in Missoula.

Of course, they couldn't miss a college football game.

They met Montana and Montana met them.

There were important groups for the visiting sailors to meet.

It was so meaningful to introduce the sailors to their military brothers and sisters.

After all, Montana has the second highest percentage of veterans in the country.

- It's important for us to have our Montana sailors visit with Montana veterans because there's such a connection.

We have to always remember that it won't be long before our active duty military members will be veterans.

And we need to make sure that our veterans understand that the military people that are coming behind them are well-trained, they respect one another.

- [Narrator] And it was also vital to meet another group of patriots who contribute so much to that high percentage of veterans.

And those are Montana's Native Americans.

- [Bill] We are such a wonderfully diverse state that it would be a travesty to not include the first people who were here.

The rest of us are relative newcomers.

- [Narrator] The visits continued all during the construction period of the USS Montana and they will continue throughout the boat's future.

The committee will make sure the sailors don't forget Montana and Montana doesn't forget the sailors.

- We want them to know who the people are, that are praying for them, that are supporting them, that are behind them in whatever they do.

(traditional music) - [Narrator] Meanwhile, across the country, the boat was nearing completion and ready for the next naval tradition, the christening.

(traditional music) Again, including Montana's indigenous peoples and a prayer from Montana's own Mariah Gladstone of the Blackfeet Nations.

(Mariah speaking in foreign language) - These are people who have lived in harmony with the lands and waters and wildlife of that special part of the world for which this boat is named.

These first Americans have served in large numbers in our armed forces and their rich cultures continue to shape the character of our country.

- [Narrator] This christening was slightly different as this was the time of the pandemic.

The ship builders, the historic HII Newport News Shipbuilding company and the Navy still fulfilled the tradition except everyone had a mask and practiced social distancing.

- The tradition of christening ships dates back more than 4,000 years.

Newport News Shipbuilding has participated in this time-honored practice since our company's founding more than a century ago.

Sally will ring the ship's bell and then the shipyard whistle will sound, signaling it's time to Christen SSN 794.

(bell chiming) - [Narrator] And that bell has a direct link not only to tradition but to the old cruiser USS Montana.

It will play a role in all ceremonies involving the nuclear-powered fast attack submarine starting here at the christening.

(bell chiming) (siren wailing) And then the ceremonial champagne smash.

- By christening the United States ship Montana, may God bless the submarine and all who sail her.

(bottle shattering) (crowd cheering) - [Narrator] And of course, anchors away, (festive music) a musician sitting away in social distance.

The bell is an example of the USS Montana Committee carrying out tradition in meaningful ways, not normally seen or heard in naval history.

All out of respect for the past and hope for the future.

The new bell would be a replica of the old bell in spirit and with careful craftsmanship.

(light music) It would be reproduced through a combination of science, technology, and some really special touches.

- First and foremost, it's a submarine-sized replica exactly of the larger bell that was aboard the first USS Montana.

On one side of the new bell, it has what was inscribed on the bell of the first Montana.

On the other side, it has the beautiful emblem of the new Montana, the submarine, that includes symbolism even from our native brothers and sisters.

The ship's bell of the Montana brings together a number of aspects of Montana connection with the Navy.

Melted into the bronze are Montana gold and silver.

Oro y Plata, our treasure state's motto.

But that gold and silver in the bell also comes from melted dolphin pins, gold ones worn by officers that have qualified as submariners and silver worn by enlisted sailors.

The committee wanted that bell to be a continuing symbol of so many connections, both history with the old boat and with of course, the traditions of the Navy and Montana centering around Oro y Plata, gold and silver.

- [Narrator] It was a way to unite the past with the present.

It was why it was both poignant and in celebration to show the bell to each part of the state of Montana to honor veterans, those surviving and in memory of those heroes who did not come back home to Montana from the battles of the world.

Yes, it would be important that sailors on the submarine would have a daily reminder that the people of the treasure state were supporting them.

And it was important to know that Montanans were also remembering those who served on the high seas those many years ago.

(excited music) A month after the christening, it was time for the rollout.

It is an impressive site.

The 7,800-ton boat moves into the open.

On a track to a dry dock and inches closer to the sea where it will be expected to serve for the next 30 or more years.

Filling the dry dock with water to float the Montana for the first time is also an amazing site.

The process takes hours and hours.

And finally, the submarine leaves the dry dock for her own pier and eventually, to the open ocean off the coast of Virginia.

She will now have extensive sea trials.

(bright music) And the submarine also had her full crew.

They would be known as the Vigilantes of the Deep, A reference to the fame Montana Protectors of Order in the Montana territory of the 1860s.

- It's become kind of a part of our culture to be Protectors of the Deep.

That's kind of how we take it to heart.

Protectors of the Deep.

- [Narrator] At this point, the boat and crew really have taken on its Montana personality complete with a famed 3-7-77 designation that Montanans know from highway patrol cars, uniforms, and a national guard unit, the mysterious symbol of the vigilantes of the gold rush days.

Sailor Cody Popelka said another mystery that he had to tell the others about is a Montana tradition.

- I was telling him about donkey basketball last time.

That was something I did.

A fundraiser went in Townsend when I was with 4H where they just brought, you know, donkeys into the high school basketball court.

And everybody looks at me like, "You actually did that?"

And yep, yep, that was a thing.

- [Narrator] Being a Montanan and on the Montana submarine is so special, - Motivates me, reminds me of home and like, that's what like gets me through this.

This can be a tough job, but being on Montana, it's pretty inspiring.

- [Narrator] The other Montanan on the crew, Paul Fullmer says it's an amazing way to end his career.

- This is my last ship.

I'm going to retire soon.

And I wanted to make it mean something to me.

And so I said, "Hey, you know what, I'm from here.

It's my last boat.

Can I come here?"

And I was allowed.

- [Narrator] The USS Montana committee was planning a celebration as the next traditional event would be the biggest, the commissioning.

(festive music) The sailors met in their best dressed uniforms for a gala reception and banquet.

The committee wanted the sailors' families to be at their sides.

It would be a gathering of the ship family to meet the Montana family.

It was all about people.

It was all about their new boat, and it was all about their new state that was with them.

Montana.

There were rodeo queens from Montana and there were videos of Montana.

- Our hundreds of members across the state of the committee and all Montanans want us to always remind our young sailors that they can and should call Montana home.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] And one of the most treasured possessions would travel with the sailors from now on for the whole life of the boat.

It was a peace pipe designed and handcrafted by Montana Native Americans.

- So you may carry it in your shift in a sacred place for protection and to assemble that we are a strong nation, that we are a strong people, that we come from Montana grassroots, and that this is a significant gift to you that we hope you honor and share with your tribes and your people that come aboard your ship.

(gentle music) - It would be mounted in one of the most prominent places in the whole submarine in the hopes of peace.

(festive music) Bright and early on, June 25th, 2022, the USS Montana SSN 794 was handed over to the Navy with great flare.

(festive music) - The submarine behind me represents the best our nation has to offer.

American manufacturing at its finest.

American ingenuity in all its splendor.

And American protection like none other.

- Since the state's founding in 1889, Montanans have served our country with honor, pride, and always with the courageous spirit of the Montana tribes.

And I have to tell you, it is just awesome to see the tribe members here today.

I am confident that this boat and her crew will embody that spirit and boldly operating far forward when necessary, wherever and whenever we need them.

- Having the world's most sophisticated submarine commissioned in your state's namesake, well, it doesn't happen every day.

To crew members and their families, know that you are always welcome in the great state of Montana.

- The interior of the USS Montana, which is a pretty tight space, has come to life through the images of big sky country reminding all who sail on her of the beauty and the diversity of our nation.

- The crew before you today has taken Montana out of the shipyard on intensive and complex sea trials.

The pride and determination I see in them to not only succeed but excel is awe inspiring.

(festive music) USS Montana is manned and ready.

Very well.

Vigilantes.

- [Sailors] Ha!

(speaker speaking in foreign language) The USS Montana, I pray that you become one with the water, work together for protection of our homelands.

- I wanted to include that water is life for us and I wanted it also to be the life for the submarine or the boat, to take and be accepted by the water and by the ocean and be accepted by all of the swimming creatures and to not disturb them or harm them, you know, and so that's what I wanted to put into that blessing.

- [Narrator] The USS Montana committee had just finished its biggest task so far.

The submarine and its crew were fully commissioned as part of the United States Navy.

- It's a pride factor definitely for the crew to show off our ship to our families, to the Navy, and to the community here.

So it's a great opportunity that most guys will never have again.

- I was full of pride during the commissioning.

It was amazing to see these young people as I reflected that many of them, a few years ago, would've had no idea that they would be the first crew members aboard such a high tech warship and to be part of such a cohesive group of young people that will help defend our nation if called upon.

I have to admit, I got pretty misty during that whole ceremony, and I know others did as well because it was so moving, so powerful, and brought together so much of what we hope and believe our military is about and what we as a country are about.

- [Narrator] And the people back home were excited.

- [Speaker] The Virginia class fast attack submarine was delivered to the US Navy over the weekend.

- [Narrator] The evening newscasts were full of the pomp and circumstance - At the commissioning this weekend, Montana Pride was on full display.

The USS Montana is a block four Virginia class fast attack submarine.

- The USS Montana was officially commissioned by the Navy this weekend.

Under Secretary of the Navy, Eric Raven said the fast attack submarine will help safeguard national security and maintain undersea dominance.

(traditional music) - [Narrator] The commissioning certainly had a Montana theme, and now the sailors would live and work in the boat with that same theme.

They would sleep in births named after Montana cities such as Butte, Helena, or Winifred.

The way it works on a sub is that in certain mission situations with extra crew, three different shifts might sleep at three different times in the same bunks.

So a bunk in Helena might have three different sailors in a 24-hour period.

The officers eat in the ward room.

They have Montana-themed coffee mugs.

There is Montana art on the walls.

Surrounding Montana on the table.

There is a Montana pasty lunch bucket from the old days displayed and an exact replica of silver platter from the revered USS Montana Cruiser of over a century ago, a memory of the Grand Silver Service.

And next to it is the treasured Navy Cross.

The very one given in 1919 for subsequent meritorious service to then Captain Louis M. Nulton, commander of the USS Montana cruiser years earlier.

The enlisted men are surrounded by the mountains of Glacier Park as they eat under the surface of the ocean.

The tables show the rivalry between the Grizz and the Cats and lots about both colleges.

All that takes place in the Big Sky Saloon.

The sailors picked the name.

- I mean, how many sailors are able to say that they had lunch in the Big Sky Saloon or that they went to a birthing area named Great Falls to go to bed, or that they followed the Missouri River passageway from the stern to the bow of the boat?

- Hey, how's it going?

- Good to see you.

- Hey, good to see you too.

- [Narrator] Of course, the commander of the Vigilantes of the Deep has the famed Charles Russell painting, the exalted ruler.

Also on the boat is that amazing bell already used for important ceremonies.

The christening, commissioning, and a change of command.

- I've served on a lot of submarines and Montana is by far the most decorated and the most hometown feeling submarine I've been on.

The committee has done an excellent job of making us feel like we're just an extension of Montana, - But it is of course, more than Montana artifacts.

It's the sailors.

- We hope that they feel the support, they feel the love, and they know that Montanans are with them wherever they go, whatever their mission might be.

We know that our hopes are being fulfilled because we talk to the sailors and they tell us that.

(solemn music) - [Narrator] The Navy asks much of these in the task of defending our freedom.

They must work as a team in peace and in emergency.

It's not only running a sophisticated boat, it involves constant preparation.

They are ready for what happens outside the ship in the high seas and ready for what could happen in an emergency such as a fire on board.

Watch the teamwork.

- Fire, fire, fire.

- Emergency four, emergency four.

Fire.

(indistinct) (people clamoring) (alarm blaring) (people speaking indistinctly) - Got a hot shot, watch your station.

- [Narrator] They have to train hard.

- A great job on the sectioning drill, exactly what the standard needs to be for responding to any kind of fire that we have onboard the ship.

- They have to be the best at what they do.

Anything less if they're called to war is problematic for them, the submarine, and for our country.

They have to succeed and they are up to the task.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] They also must be ready for 150 sailors needing dinner.

They say pizza, wings, nuggets and hamburgers are the favorites.

The occasional steak night is always a big hit.

And to help with the long shifts, 500 pounds of Starbucks coffee is loaded onto the ship every three months.

(upbeat music) There's a treadmill exercise by growing machine and some free weights to help the crews stay in shape.

If you want to wash your clothes after a good workout, you'll have to schedule a time for the one washer and one dryer on board that's shared by all the other sailors on the boat.

And they of course, can't see their families in person while deployed.

They can only communicate with sporadic short emails.

And to protect mission security, the boat may be completely without communication for long periods.

For most people, it might be a nightmare to share space with 150 people in a confined environment for three months.

But for these well-trained sailors, they don't see it as a problem.

To Montana and Cody Popelka, it's like a weakened camping drip at Flathead Lake.

- It's a couple billion dollar nuclear-powered underwater RV.

(dramatic music) - [Narrator] It's all because they can be underwater for 90 days at a time, even 120 days underwater if needed.

It's a world without windows and daylight.

Being ready to defend our nation on scene unseen.

It is a world of heroes.

- They do spend their time in large measure below the sea, away from loved ones, away from the things we take for granted, being able to pop out for a hamburger or something.

It is remarkable that they have to be able to compartmentalize, to not worry about what's happening outside that submarine when they've got a job to do for weeks or months at a time.

And I think we all owe them a lot that they're able to and willing to do that.

(dramatic music) - [Narrator] The sailors in the boat become one and both as one are now a major asset of the US Navy for the next 30 plus years.

It's exacting training for an unpredictable world.

- The vision for the crew long term is to get to the Pacific fleet and make a difference over there.

Be operational and an asset that's useful for our fleet commanders and for our type comms and for anyone that may need us wherever they may need us.

We don't necessarily know the capabilities of the enemy all the time.

And so to ensure success, we have to be the best that we can be at every mission area that we engage in.

(dramatic music) - [Narrator] And wherever the crew is, on land or at sea or whatever kind of world we are in, the sailors will know there are people in Montana supporting them miles and oceans away.

- Everything we do in terms of projects, whether bringing crew members to Montana so that they can meet and visit with Montanans or providing touches of Montana aboard the submarine, are geared toward reminding the sailors every day when they're at sea that Montana is with them, and we want them to be the most successful in the world.

(dramatic music) - [Narrator] We probably will never see the USS Montana or her sisters out there in the ocean, but we are a more secure nation because of them.

No, we won't see them, but we will be thinking of them in Montana.

(dramatic music) (dramatic music continues)