House Members from New Hampshire Visit USS New Hampshire
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New Hampshire Union Leader
Jenny Paul
Boston University Washington News Service
12/5/2008
WASHINGTON- Democratic Reps. Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes met Thursday with servicemen on board the USS New Hampshire, a naval submarine that was commissioned at the Portsmouth shipyard in October.
Shea-Porter and Hodes, along with Rep. Robert Wittman (R-Va.), traveled to Port Canaveral, Fla., where the submarine is stationed, and stayed on board the vessel for about eight hours to tour the facilities and speak with crew members and officers.
“The whole purpose, of course, was to see firsthand the work that they do each day,” Shea-Porter said. “I had boarded it before, but I had never experienced actually being underwater with them and seeing some of the things it’s capable of doing.”
Shea-Porter said the best part of the trip was speaking with the servicemen and seeing how hard they work.
“It requires a kind of stamina and mental conditioning and incredible commitment to this country to stay underwater and to be working without the sunlight and without the contact with the families — except the occasional contact — and to work like they do, staring at the equipment,” she said. “It’s a very intense environment. They’re a very special breed. I really admire them.”
The USS New Hampshire is the newest addition to the Navy’s Virginia-class of nuclear-powered attack submarines. It is the fourth naval vessel to be named for the state.
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