USS IDAHO: Namesake’s story

For Commander Costigan and your letter of Oct. 20 — thank you for your service and for your interest in the USS IDAHO. I’m sorry for your confusion regarding Ms. Neff’s Oct. 8 report.

For all those interested in the new Idaho namesake, my name is Henry Netzer and I volunteer with the USS Idaho Commissioning Foundation and, with the assistance of many others, helped coordinate the recent visit by Commander Meyers (the Commanding Officer of the Pre-Commissioning Crew) and four other crew members.

The mission of the Foundation is (in part) to Plan and conduct a statewide outreach of social, informative and educational activities to create the bond between the people of Idaho and those who serve in defense of our great state and nation on the USS IDAHO.

Former ships named for Idaho were BB 24 (1908-1914, sold to Greece as best I can determine) and BB 42 (1915-1946, decommissioned and dismantled). None are in service now and that’s why this is an exciting time to be part of history.

USS Idaho, SSN 799 is a Virginia Class fast attack submarine being constructed by General Dynamics, Electric Boat company in Groton, Conn. The Keel was laid in August 2020, Christening is scheduled for late 2022 (break the bottle and placed in the water) and Commissioning (accepted by the Navy) in 2023. As Ms. Neff’s article stated, the stealth technology was developed at the Navy’s Acoustic Research Detachment in Bayview. In addition, the Idaho National Laboratory, near Arco, was the development, testing and training site for the original Naval reactors.

Please see www.ssn799.org for more information about Idaho’s link with the Navy and the USS Idaho Commissioning Foundation.

HENRY NETZER, Captain, USNR (Ret)

North Region Chair

USS Idaho Commissioning Committee

Hayden