We have been anxiously awaiting confirmation of a commissioning date by the Navy. We had been working towards a target date of October 21st, but were recently informed that March 17th is the most probable date for Commissioning. This date is circulating with Navy circles, but needs to be formally approved by the Secretary of the Navy before it becomes official. The commissioning will now occur near the end of the post construction shakedown period instead of before. This was done to provide margin in event any construction issues arise during the upcoming sea trials and to provide more lead time for planning / contracting. While we are disappointed that the commissioning will be delayed, it gives us even more time to plan a great celebration!

Meanwhile  the crew has been busy with their preparations for sea trials. They are undergoing a series of events, namely Dock Trials and Fast Cruise and completing their crew certification to take the boat to sea for the first time. We anticipate their sea trials will commence in the very near future..

We are opening up sign up for those interested in receiving an invitation to the Commissioning ceremony. This ceremony will occur at Naval Submarine Base in Groton, CT around 11:00 AM on Commissioning day, rain or shine. The commissioning ceremony is an official U. S. Navy event for which there is no admission fee, however, due to security reasons and limited seating, admission is by invitation only. The Navy will send out the invitations to the ceremony and you will need to respond to that invitation to receive your tickets to the event. There will be a reception on the pier immediately following for all attending the ceremony.

For our corporate sponsors, the Committee will be contacting you for your list of attendees. If you are a contributor at the Long’s Peak Level or above you will also receive invitations from the Commissioning Committee for other committee organized events. This will include the Chairman’s reception on Friday evening, and the Platform Briefing event on Saturday morning before the Commissioning ceremony. We will be reaching out to all in this group regarding these events.

Travel packages will be available through AAA once the date of the commissioning has been set.

Please visit this page to request invitation

On Tuesday evening May 9th the House passed Senate Bill 17-183 which appropriates $100,000 to the Department of Military and Veteran Affairs to make grants for the purpose of paying for expenses related to the commissioning of USS Colorado, promoting awareness of USS Colorado within the state; and to support the crew. 

The bill was introduced back in February by Senator Bob Gardner of Colorado Springs and has been with Senate Appropriations Committee until Friday May 5th. The Appropriations Committee acted on the legislation and it moved quickly through the rest of the Senate, finishing with their final vote on Monday. Representative Pete Lee, also of Colorado Springs, joined as co-sponsor and the bill moved through the committees in the House on Monday, with final passage in the House in the evening of Tuesday May 9th. The final vote in the Senate was 29 to 6 and in the House 55 to 10. 

We thank all who took the time to contact their representatives in the General Assembly support of this legislation.

February 28th marked the first milestone for Senate Bill 17-183 introduced by Senator Bob Gardner for support of USS Colorado..Today marked the first reading of the bill in the Local Government Committee. Ten members of the Committee were there to show support for the bill. Committee Member former Senator Bernie Herpin led off the testimony and introduced Chairman JJ Mackin. JJ spoke of the history of previous Colorado’s, the actions of the Committee to date and the efforts of the crew in the construction process and later as they go to sea. The remarks were well received with the Committee voting unanimously for its passage. Click here for a complete text of his remarks.

The bill moves on to the Senate Appropriations Committee for its next hearing. Both Senator Bob Gardner and Senator Larry Crowder of the Local Government Committee attended the boat’s Christening in December. The other members of the Committee are Senators Beth Martinez Humenik, Kerry Donovan and John Kefalas. 

We are sorry to note that World War II Submariner Andy Palenchar passed away on February 19th. Andy qualified in submarines on USS Finback (SS 230) in 1943. During the 9^th war patrol he was the sailor who hoisted LTJG George H. W. Bush aboard Finback after the future President had been shot down in the Pacific. Andy left the Navy after the war but later joined the Army reserves. He was activated for the Korean conflict and remained on active duty serving in Korea and two tours in Vietnam. He retired from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1978.

Andy was a proud submariner. He was active with the Rocky Mountain Base of US Submarine Veterans. In spite of being recently hospitalized he still attended the February Submarine Veterans. He was a great supporter of USS Colorado. He spoke at our History Colorado event in July 2015 and pinned on dolphins for SN Brayden Kane of PCU Colorado in a ceremony held at the State Capitol in December of that year. Always with a twinkle in his eye and a great sea story to tell, he was an incredible person. His service in the Army in both Korea and Vietnam was nothing sort of amazing. He was a true Patriot and will be missed by all who knew him.