"Let it be ... forever!" Idaho Steelheads hockey fans cheer the USS Idaho's call-and-response battle cry.

Thu Jan 26th, 2023

[From Submarine Readiness Squadron 32]

"Let it be... forever!"

Lt. Cmdr. Darrell Smith, executive officer of the future USS Idaho (SSN 799), gave Gem State hockey fans a taste of submarine life by leading them in his crew's call-and-response battle cry.

"Let it be - forever" is the English translation of Idaho's Latin state motto, Esto Perpetua.

Several members of the SSN 799 crew are visiting their future submarine's namesake state this week and enjoyed a warm welcome on the ice at last night's Idaho Steelheads ECHL hockey game in Boise.

While U.S. Navy submarines regularly operate under the ice, like in the Arctic, this was a nice opportunity for the future USS Idaho Sailors to operate on top of it.

The game was one of many stops on a tour of the state, where the submariners shared their Navy stories and continued building relationships in the community.

The crew members have been blown away by the enthusiastic support they've received by the people of Idaho and will remember these experiences representing the state - and nation - at sea in the years to come.

The future Virginia-class fast-attack submarine is currently under construction at General Dynamics Corp.'s Electric Boat shipyard in Groton, Connecticut, where the crew is based.

At the Steelheads game, each member of the crew was announced as the team reached center ice. Who do you think got the biggest cheer?