With the successful completion of the Commissioning last year, the establishment of the scholarship fund for the crew and their families in the fall and the establishment and transition to the new USS Colorado Submarine Association for the long-term support of the crew, the Commissioning Committee has successfully met all of its objectives. We will keep this web site online to be a historical record of Committee’s activities including crew visits and the submarine’s construction period, but all future activities will be updated on the new Association website. We encourage all to follow USS Colorado there and become a member of the Association. All those who subscribed to our newsletter are automatically carried over to Association.
Welcome
Welcome to USS Colorado (SSN-788) Commissioning Committee web site. USS Colorado (SSN-788) is the 15th Virginia Class submarine. She was delivered to the Navy on September 21, 2017. Having completed shakedown operations, she was commissioned on March 17, 2018 at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, CT. The Committee's purposes are to promote awareness within the state, provide support for the crew, and to help organize and raise money for the events surrounding commissioning.
On May 16 and 17 eight members of the USS Colorado Submarine Association visited the crew of USS Colorado in their home port. Don and Sheri Price, JJ and Florence Mackin, Rick and Donna Riesssen, Mark Nelson and Bill Rinz traveled to Groton, CT and on Thursday, in order to show their support for the crew, helped prepare and serve both noon and evening meals on board under the watchful eye of Culinary Specialist Shamar Close. The crew members seemed appreciative of their efforts.
In the evening Association members had dinner at a local restaurant with members of the Wardroom and the Chief’s Quarters and their wives.
During the visit Association members had a chance to meet the new Executive Officer, LCDR Kenny Kirkwood who recently transferred from Pre-Commissioning Unit Oregon . They also got to view the Ken Jones Challenge Plaque, which shows the charge issued to the crew from the veterans of the WWII Battleship USS Colorado (BB-45).
Association members were invited to a crew’s picnic on Friday. The Commanding Officer, CDR Reed Koepp, presented awards to a number of crew members for exceptional performed during the ship’s operational period earlier this year including weapons acceptance trials and engineering examinations.
On Saturday May 4th, Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Anthony Matus, LTJG Timothy Bell, Machinist’s Mate First Class (MMN1(SS)) Chris Guitierrez and Fireman (FN(SS)) Albert Rodriquez arrived in Denver for a four day visit to our state. LTJG Matus, the Assistant Operations Officer, had actually been on a previous crew visit in October of 2017. LTJG Bell has been on board about eight months and is currently the Chemistry and Radiological Assistant. MMN1(SS) Guitierrez is a nuclear machinist mate and hold the distinction of being the longest serving member of the crew having reported with the first increment of the engineering department in 2014. FN(SS) Rodriquez, a member of Auxiliary Division, completed the requirements for submarine qualification in only six months, one of the shortest times of any of the crew.
That evening the crew went to Big Bill’s Pizza in Littleton for dinner. They were greeted warmly by the owner who introduced them to the patrons who gave the sailors a standing ovation. It was a great welcome to Colorado.
On Sunday the crew Boulder and then attended the Colorado Rockies game at Coors field. They were given a rousing reception as they were introduced to the crowd during the seventh inning stretch. In the evening several members of the USS Colorado Submarine Association treated our visitors to dinner at the historic Buckhorn Exchange in Denver.
Monday was a busy day for our sailors. They made presentations at Castle View High School in Castle Rock and Casey Middle School in Boulder talking to about 150 students. In the afternoon they received a special tour of the Capitol and observed a flag raising from the balcony of the Capitol dome. They met with Governor Polis who presented them with the Colorado state flag. From there it was off to the University Memorial Center (UMC) at CU Boulder. The UMC is the official repository of USS Colorado artifacts and has the ships’ bells that served first three USS Colorado’s and a replica of the bell currently in service on the submarine, a gift from the USS Colorado (BB45) Association.
On Tuesday, after driving to Fort Collins, the crew members were interviewed for thirty minutes on local radio station KCOL 600 AM by morning host Jimmy Lakey. They then split up into two groups and set out to visit a total of nine middle and high schools. The schools visited were Preston Middle School, Blevins Middle School, PSD Global Academy, Lesher Middle School, Rocky Mountain High School, PSD Global Academy, Fort Collins High School, Liberty Common High School, and Fort Collins High School. All together they spoke to about 650 students in Fort Collins who asked many questions about life on a submarine. After touring downtown Fort Collins, the sailors headed to Steamboat Springs for their Wednesday events.
They started Wednesday as guests of Steamboat Springs City Council for breakfast and then gave a presentation to the Council who were intently interested in what the crew had to say. They then visited North Routt Charter School about twenty miles from Steamboat where they talked to about 150 students in grades 3 through 8 of the school. After stopping at Freshies Restaurant in Steamboat for lunch where they were hosted by the owner, they visited Steamboat middle school where they talked to 120 6th and 7th grade students. They also got to tour the town and visit the local rodeo grounds and ski areas. The sailors were then hosted to dinner at the town’s combined VFW/American Legion Post. They were then hosted at Steamboat Whiskey Distillers for after-dinner refreshments by the owner, a former Navy Seal. The visit was covered in the local Steamboat Pilot newspaper and given front page coverage. Considering that Steamboat Springs is a community of only 12,000 they cut a wide swath. They were often stopped on the street by persons recognizing them because of the news coverage and given spontaneous gift donuts by the Owner of Powder Day Donut shop.
On Thursday they were hosted for breakfast by the Steamboat Springs Chamber of Commerce and made a presentation to the Board before heading to DIA to catch their flight back to Groton. The visit to Steamboat provided the crew members an opportunity to see some of Colorado’s beautiful mountain scenery
Once again, the visit by the crew members proved to be a great success. All the students at their school presentations were interested and asked incisive questions which the sailors answered in a highly professional manner. It gave those students a glimpse into life in the Navy and on a submarine and demonstrated the high caliber of sailors who serve in our Submarine Force today. It also gave the sailors a chance to appreciate the support they receive from their namesake state and to observe the great natural beauty of Colorado.
This Saturday May 4, three crew members from USS Colorado will arrive in Colorado for a four day visit to our state. Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Timothy Bell, Machinist Mate Nuclear Second Class (MMN2) Chris Gutierrez and Fireman (FN) Albert Rodriguez will have a busy schedule during this visit. On Sunday they will attend Cinco de Mayo festivities in the morning, attend the Rockies in the afternoon and have dinner with several Association members in the evening. On Monday they will visit two Denver area schools, tour the Capitol, meet with the Governor, and visit the CU University Memorial Center in Boulder.
On Tuesday the sailors will visit Fort Collins where they will visit nine schools in the local area. On Wednesday they travel to Steamboat Springs where they will meet with the City Council, the Chamber of Commerce, visit two schools and have dinner with a group of local veterans. Thursday they return to Groton as they prepare for the submarine’s first deployment.
Three members of the new USS Colorado Submarine Association recently traveled to Groton, Connecticut to meet with the crew of USS Colorado with the purpose of defining how the new Association could best support the boat for the long term. Association President, Don Price and members JJ Mackin and Rick Riessen spent two days meeting with various members of the Command, including the Commanding Officer (CO), CDR Reed Koepp, Executive Officer (XO), LCDR Matt Wolff and Chief of the Boat (COB), Master Chief Chip Alger. They also paid a call on Squadron Four Commodore, CAPT Brian Sitlow. They met also with the officers of the Family Readiness Group (FRG), President Chelsea Taylor, Vice President Megan Petrasek and Treasurer Alana Buday accompanied by the CO’s wife, Aimee Koepp and XO’s wife, Tiffany Wolff.
It was a great visit! The hospitality of the crew was amazing especially considering their busy in port period. The visit kicked off with burgers and beer with the CO and several of the chiefs at a local restaurant.
There was a great exchange of information of ways to support the crew and families. Some of the items discussed were mid-deployment care packages, crew visits to Colorado, visits to Groton by Association members and support for FRG fundraising efforts that will allow for morale boosting events for the crew and families. Another plan is to coordinate donation of submarine dolphin warfare specialty pins by veteran submariners that will be passed on to USS Colorado sailors as they qualify in submarines to emphasize the heritage, traditions and history of the submarine force. The Association has already sponsored a pizza party in February for the families while the boat was away. They also discussed ways for the Association stay plugged in to information about the boats activities to keep Colorado supporters informed about their namesake submarine. During their time on board they were able to observe a number of commissioning gifts given to the crew in good use.
During the visit the Association members presented a special “battle flag” to the crew that they will display while in port and transiting on the surface. They were able to make the presentation during a crew assembly on the pier where a number of crew members received awards for superior performance. It was great to see many of the crew members who made trips to the state during the construction phase. The Association intends to continue those visits in the future, but with the ship now operating, the visits will not be as frequent. Association member Rick Riessen also brought along a number of goodies, such as coffee cups and t-shirts. Rick helped start a new tradition by arranging to have the Command Master Chief insignia worn by a previously served Chief of the Boat “passed down the line” and given to the current COB Chip Alger in a surprise presentation. The intent is to have this pin passed down from COB to COB on Colorado.
On the last night the Association members went to dinner with the CO, XO, COB and their spouses and had a great time further discussing support and exchanging many “sea stories” of one sort or another.
This visit helped strengthen the bonds between the state and the crew and demonstrate Colorado’s commitment to support them throughout the life of the boat.
The new Association is in the formative stages of development. In the near future the web site will be up and running with instructions on how you can join to support USS Colorado. Stay tuned.
