Gov. Linda Lingle raises the Hawaii state flag for the first time aboard the Virginia-class attack submarine USS Hawaii (SSN 776) in port in Hawaii, July 23, 2009.
Hawaii is the first Virginia-class submarine home ported in the Pacific region and the first submarine to bear the name of the Aloha state.
By the end of 2009, 31 of the 53 fast-attack submarines will be home ported in the Pacific, with 18 of those 31 home ported in Pearl Harbor.
(DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael Hight, U.S. Navy/Released)
In 2004, Gov. Lingle also had her initials inscribed on a plate by a welder at the shipyard in Rhode Island. That plate is now mounted outside the crew’s mess.