WASHINGTON, D.C. – The engine room of one of the U.S. Navy’s newest fast attack submarines, the USS Idaho, will be named for former Idaho Governor and U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne.
U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, announced the naming in a press release Wednesday.
“Dirk’s contributions to our great state and our nation are significant,” Risch said in the release. “His leadership and dedication to the USS Idaho Commissioning Committee is a true testament to Dirk’s resounding love for the Gem State. It was my great honor to request the USS Idaho’s Engine Room be named for my dear friend and Idaho’s former governor, Dirk Kempthorne.”
Kempthorne served as mayor of Boise for seven years starting in 1985, and eventually moved on to serve a term in the U.S. Senate after his election in 1993. He was elected as Idaho’s governor in 1998 and reelected in 2002.
Then-President George W. Bush later nominated Kempthorne to serve as U.S. secretary of the Interior, which he did from 2006 to 2009.
Kempthorne honored due to service and ‘lifetime support of the U.S. military’
Risch said in the press release that he spoke to USS Idaho Cmdr. C.J. Guillerault in December, and made the naming request to “acknowledge Kempthorne’s significant contributions to this project as well as a lifetime of support to the U.S. military.”
Risch highlighted Kempthorne’s work as a member of the Senate Armed Services committee and in his time as governor and commander in chief of the Idaho National Guard. Kempthorne also serves as chairman of the USS Idaho Commissioning Committee Advisory Board.
The USS Idaho, SSN 799, is a Virginia-class, nuclear-powered submarine, which has “enhanced stealth, sophisticated surveillance capabilities and special warfare enhancements,” according to the Navy. The submarine was delivered from the shipbuilder to the Navy in December, and is now undergoing tests before being commissioned for active service, a Navy press release said.
“The Engine Room, driven by a nuclear reactor pioneered at the Idaho National Laboratory, is the heart of the USS Idaho — further signifying Kempthorne’s integral role in the project,” Risch’s press release said.
The commanding officer, Guillerault, wrote to Risch in a Jan. 6 letter that naming spaces aboard Navy submarines isn’t unusual, but that they are usually named for cities or locations, not people.
“Governor Kempthorne has been intrinsically involved and a true advocate for our ship since
the day Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced the naming of USS IDAHO on August
23rd, 2015,” Guillerault wrote. “The drive he demonstrated as the 30th governor of Idaho propelling the state forward in technology and conservation, is the same drive and enthusiasm he has demonstrated in support of USS IDAHO. Therefore, I am pleased to inform you that we will be naming the USS IDAHO’s Engine Room in honor of Governor Kempthorne.”
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