PCU Idaho Submarine

Leadership

Commanding Officer

Commander Randall Leslie

A native of Highland, CA, CDR Leslie graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. After completing his initial nuclear power and submarine training, he served as a division officer onboard USS BUFFALO (SSN 715). Following his division officer tour CDR Leslie next obtained his Masters Degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Maryland and taught in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Following graduation from the Submarine Officer Advanced Course he served as the Navigator onboard USS ASHEVILLE (SSN 758). After his tour as Navigator CDR Leslie served at the Department of State in Washington DC in the Officer of Nuclear Energy, Safety, and Security and in the Office of Japanese Affairs. During this tour he obtained a Masters Degree in International Policy and Practice from George Washington University.

After Completing the Submarine Command Course, CDR Leslie reported as Executive Officer onboard USS KENTUCKY (SSBN 737)(BLUE). During his tour on KENTUCKY the ship completed two strategic deterrent patrols and was awarded the Battle "E". After his Executive Officer tour CDR Leslie reported to Chief of Naval Operations Assessment Division (OPNAV N81) at the Pentagon as a munitions analyst.

CDR Leslie is now privileged to serve alongside the world's greatest sailors as Commanding Officer of PCU IDAHO (SSN 799).

Executive Officer

Lieutenant Commander Darréll Smith

LCDR Smith earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland, and participated in the College Park Scholars program where he focused in Life Science. He later earned a Masters in Engineering Management from Old Dominion University.

LCDR Smith's department head tour was on the USS PENNSYLVANIA (SSBN-735), where he served as Navigator and Operations Officer. During this tour he completed 4 strategic deterrent patrols, and conducted several training exercises with allied forces to hone their combat effectiveness.

Ashore, LCDR Smith conducted a post JO sea tour at COMSUBPAC in Pearl Harbor HI where he worked as a Submarine Watch Officer, Tactics and Training assistant, and the Deputy Safety Officer. His post department head sea tour was at Strategic Systems Program located in Washington DC where he acted as the SP205 Strategic Navigator responsible for providing training and oversight to all of the nation's Strategic Navigators.

LCDR Smith and his wife reside in Madison, Connecticut with their two children.

Chief of the Boat

Master Chief Travis Skipper

Master Chief Skipper is a native of Greenville, South Carolina. He enlisted in July of 1997 attending Recruit Training at RTC Great Lakes, IL.

ETVCM Skipper reported to Submarine School followed by Electronics Technician A-school. In January of 1998, he reported to TRITRAFAC Kings Bay to complete IC Principles and the Strategic Navigation Operator course. Following graduation, he reported to the USS RHODE ISLAND (SSBN 740) where he completed 8 strategic deterrent patrols and was awarded the Battle Efficiency "E" twice for the ship's performance between 1999 and 2001.

Following graduation from SSN Electronics Technician "C" school in 2007 he reported to USS ASHEVILLE (SSN 758) where he served as the Navigation Leading Petty Officer, which saw him through to an advancement to Chief Petty Officer. During his short time onboard, ASHEVILLE completed a DSRA, Acoustic Trials and ECDIS-N Certification.

Master Chief Skipper then reported to USS HAMPTON (SSN 767) as the Navigation Leading Chief Petty Officer in late 2007. While on HAMPTON, he served also as Departmental LCPO, Command DAPA and the Forward Drill Coordinator. During his time aboard, he completed a DSRA, Acoustic Trials, ECDIS-N Certification, WESTPAC and CENTCOM deployments and awarded the Battle Efficiency "E" for 2008.

In December 2014, he reported to the USS OLYMPIA (SSN 717) as the Navigation Department LCPO. He also served as the Supply Department LCPO, the Torpedo Division LCPO, coordinated the CPO transition seasons, completed his Chief of the Boat qualification and graduated from the Senior Enlisted Academy. During his time onboard, the ship completed a DSRA, Acoustic Trials, 2 WESTPAC deployments and a successful HARPOON launch during a RIMPAC exercise.

Master Chief Skipper's shore assignments include NAVORDTESTU in Cape Canaveral, FL, an instructor at TRITRAFAC Kings Bay, and Naval Base Point Loma as the Assistant Operation Officer.

His awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (4 awards), the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (10 awards) and the Good Conduct Medal (8 awards).

The Role of a Sponsor

The Secretary of the Navy is charged with designating sponsors for all United States Navy Ships. Sponsors play a unique role for the Navy. As they christen their ships, bestowing upon the vessel a name chosen by the Secretary of the Navy, they become an integral part of that ship’s history. The crew of the ship may change many times over the course of a ship’s life, but the Sponsor remains the same. The Sponsor’s role is an important one. She will participate in as many of the ceremonial milestones in the life of the ship as possible and her experiences will be memorable.

A ship sponsor, by tradition, is a female civilian who is invited to "sponsor" a vessel, presumably to bestow good luck and divine protection over the seagoing vessel and all that sail aboard. In the United States Navy and the United States Coast Guard the sponsor is technically considered a permanent member of the ship's crew and is expected to give a part of her personality to the ship, as well as advocate for its continued service and well-being. For passenger ships the sponsor is called a Godmother. The christening ceremony marks the traditional transition of the ship from the new construction phase to its comprehensive tests and trials phase – moving from a mere hull number to a ship with a name and spirit.

Meet The Ship's Sponsor

Terry Stackley has lived by the sea, close to the Navy all her life. Her father served as a Navy Communications Technician before taking on a career in naval design, and Terry would spend her childhood years from her birthplace in New Jersey, to Connecticut and Massachusetts before settling in the Baltimore area, moving with her family as her father climbed the ranks at private shipyards in Philadelphia, Groton, Quincy, and Sparrows Point, before he returned to public service with the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC.

Terry graduated from Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) in 1979, earning her Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and launching her on an early career in computer programming. She married the love of her life, Sean Stackley in 1980, and would dedicate nearly four decades as a Navy wife, at duty stations stretching from San Diego to Boston to Ottawa, Canada to Bath, Maine to Norfolk and finally arriving in Northern Va, where Sean would complete his career in uniform and subsequently serve as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development & Acquisition) from 2008 to 2017. Among her many cherished memories, Terry prizes her role 'pulling the trigger' at Bath Iron Works to launch the USS CURTIS WILBUR (DDG 54).

Terry is passionate about music, and after leaving her career as a computer programmer to raise her children she served as the music director for her church for 12 years. In 2009 she founded the Lake Ridge Chorale, an auditioned community choir and nonprofit organization in Northern Virginia, which also serves local charities through concert donations. She is a member of the American Choral Directors Association and sings soprano in the Arlington Chorale, her favorite performance being the annual Messiah Sing-a-long hosted at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts each year. In her spare time, Terry loves to garden, cook and sew, and serve as hostess, especially for Navy football tailgates and Naval Academy 9th Company reunions.

Most recently Terry and Sean have relocated to Annapolis Md. where she loves being a part of the Naval Academy community and a sponsor to Midshipmen. Terry and Sean are blessed with four beautiful children, Erin, Tess, Scott and Maura, and are proud grandparents of their 2 grandchildren, Orson and Callan.

Terry is deeply honored and humbled to have been chosen as the sponsor of the USS Idaho.

Terry Stackley, USS Idaho Ship's Sponsor

Ceremonial Milestones

Keel Laying Ceremony

During this ceremony, the Sponsor etches her initials into the keel plate to verify that "This keel has been truly and fairly laid".

Christening

The Sponsor bestows the ship’s name while smashing the bottle against the bow of the ship.

Commissioning

The commissioning ceremony is one of the most important. The ship is accepted by the United States Navy and becomes part of the active Navy Fleet. When the Sponsor says, "Man Our Ship and Bring Her to Life" and the crew boards the ship, all present rejoice and break out in thunderous applause. It is a very patriotic and proud moment for all.

Relationship with the Ship and Crew

Far beyond participation in ceremonial milestones, Sponsorship represents a lifelong relationship with the ship and her crew. While this bond begins with the ship’s christening and the initial (plankowner) crew, it will ideally extend throughout the ship’s service life and even beyond. Sponsors are encouraged to make every effort to foster this special relationship, and to maintain contact with the initial and successive captains and the amazing men and women who comprise her crew.

For more information about ship's sponsors please visit Society of Sponsors of the United States Navy.

Crew

The crew will eventually consist of approximately 120 enlisted personnel and 14 officers. The crew will be mixed gender throughout many of the ranks. As of September 2020 the crew consists of approximately 35 sailors. Most of their current activities revolve around program development, training and qualifications in preparation for operating the future submarine.

New crew members are reporting aboard weekly.

Crew members that are Idaho Natives:

Senior Chief Machinist Mate Nuclear (ss) David Drury
Engineering Department Master Chief
Hometown: Kooskia
High School / Graduation Year: Clear Water Valley High School 1998
University: Thomas Edison 2016/ Currently attending Yale
Favorite things to do in Idaho: Snowmobile, hunting, fishing

Electricians Mate Nuclear First class (ss) Andew Leonhardt

Electricians Mate Nuclear First Class (ss) Andrew Leonhardt
Hometown: Nampa, ID
High School / Graduation Year: Meridian High School 2010
University: N/A
Favorite things to do in Idaho: Fishing, Camping, Floating the Boise River

SSTSSN BOSCAN
Hometown: Hayden Idaho
High School:Coeur d’Alene High School
Favorite things to do in Idaho:
Winter – Skiing at Silver Mountain
Summer – Silver Wood theme park

Crest

The Crest of the USS IDAHO, has many features that ties the boat to its namesake state.

At the top of the crest can be seen a large cut opal, containing a vista of the sawtooth mountain range, with a grouping of white pine trees (the official state tree).

Behind the opal is an Appaloosa horse, the 1st of several Native American ties to Idaho and the official state horse.

In front of the appaloosa is the motto of both USS IDAHO and the state of Idaho, "ESTO PERPETUA" or "let it be perpetual". Which is especially true for a nuclear-powered warship.

Below the motto are an arraignment of five feathers. These represent the five different Native American tribes that call Idaho home.

The outline of the state can be seen, flanked by two steelhead trout. One gold and one silver (representing the officers and enlisted uniform devices respectively) with green (jade) and red (garnet) eyes. These are in reference to both the nickname of Idaho as the gem state and also reference the running lights on the submarine.Above and below each fish can be seen a stylized wave of water, this is to represent their journey to and from the ocean.

Within the state outline one can see the namesake itself, USS IDAHO, steaming from its acoustic birthplace, Acoustic Research Detachment (ARD) Bayview, ID, the US Navy’s premier acoustic research laboratory. (denoted by an anchor on the southern end of lake Pend Oreille. The Sub has a red rudder protruding from the water to serve as reference to LSV-2 Cutthroat, the quarter scale Virginia Class unmanned research model, operated at ARD. Just to the right of the sub’s conning tower is a reference to NPTU Idaho with a design made from an element of their unit patch. Until recently the majority of the US Navy's nuclear operators were trained here. Leading the sub into her mission swiftly and silently, is a peregrine falcon (the state raptor). Below the falcon are 4 silvers stars, one for each of the USS IDAHOs, and below them in silhouette is the most recent USS IDAHO, BB42.

The lower portion of the crest features the name "USS IDAHO" and "SSN 799" over a red, white and blue field. Bordering this to the left is a grouping of huckleberries (the state fruit) and to the right, syringas (the state flower).

About the designer

The crest was designed by Mr. Jason Watson of the Naval Nuclear Laboratory. With his other duties he has had the pleasure of designing 9 other Virginia class submarine crests. He resides in Ballston Spa, with his wife Katelyn and his daughter Sophie.

The Boat

Capabilities

The Future USS IDAHO SSN 799 will have:

Acoustic Stealth

which was developed at Acoustic Research Detachment, Bayview Idaho.

Nuclear Power

the original nuclear submarine propulsion system was built at Idaho National Lab in 1953. All of the nuclear training officers and crew from the USS Nautilus SSN 571 trained in Idaho.