The U.S. Navy’s newest Virginia-class submarine, the USS IDAHO, will be formally commissioned and entered into active U.S, Navy service this Saturday at 8 a.m. Pacific Time at the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut.
The commissioning is the last of five major events in the life of a U.S. Navy warship before it joins the U.S. Navy fleet and is deemed ready for combat. The first event was the naming of the vessel. The second event was the keel-laying ceremony, officially marking the beginning of construction: this event took place on August 2020 in Quonset Point, Rhode Island.
After its christening ceremony in March 2024, the submarine underwent a rigorous curriculum of sea trials to ensure that the performance of the ship was in accordance with its plans and specifications. Following testing, the submarine was accepted by the U.S. Navy in December 2025.
At the commissioning students and faculty members from the University of Idaho’s Lionel Hampton School of Music will be performing original arrangements along with the national anthem and a medley of all five military branches’ anthems.
