Officers and crew members of USS Columbia visited one of its namesake cities last week

The commanding officer of the U.S. Navy Los Angeles Class attack submarine USS Columbia encountered a pleasant coincidence Wednesday when visiting Columbia.

The submarine and Flat Branch Pub and Brewing both are celebrating 30-year anniversaries. The vessel’s mess hall is known as Flat Branch Café.

“The Flat Branch anniversary is a happy accident for us,” said Cmdr. Brad Foster, noting this week’s visit was coordinated via the Mayor’s Task Force on the USS Columbia and Friends of the USS Columbia Submarine SSN-771 headed up by chair Anne Moore of D&M Sound. “My first tour on submarines was on the Columbia, so I knew her from before. When I got this command, I remembered there was this lady that worked in Columbia, Missouri.”

So, he reached out to Moore about a visit to one of the vessel’s namesake cities. Others are in Illinois and South Carolina.

Columbia could see a crew member return visit in October 2025, based on a recent task force meeting agenda.

Those who were here this week were Foster; Lt. j.g. Zachary Rosen, the junior officer of the year; Chief Petty Officer and Missouri native Matt Choiniere; and Petty Officer 1st Class Billy Kilmer, the junior sailor of the year.

Along with recognition at Tuesday’s city council meeting, the crew members met with the University of Missouri ROTC, visited Columbia College and its veterans center, presented at Benton Elementary School, which has a roughly decade-long relationship with USS Columbia, Foster said, and the meet-and-greet event Wednesday at Flat Branch.

The visit this week was about getting familiar with the submarine’s namesake city, so that information can be brought back to the upward 150-strong crew, Foster said.

“This city is great,” he said, adding students at Benton Elementary had lots of questions to ask. “(Columbia College) does a lot with satellite campuses to help service members get a college degree. … Long story short, we’ve seen an awful lot of Columbia and everything we have seen has been great.”

Columbia has been very welcoming, Foster said. He also was impressed by how many people in the community know the connections between the city and the submarine.

Making the Columbia connection

The USS Columbia is stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. When the relationship first was established, it was overseen by then Mayor Mary Anne McCollum and the submarine itself was sponsored by former first lady Hillary Clinton.

The vessel is unique in that it is known as “the last slider,” said Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe, who issued a proclamation about the city’s affiliation with the USS Columbia.

“When the submarine was christened, Mayor McCollum and a delegation traveled to Groton, Connecticut for that ceremony,” she said. “It was the last time a submarine was launched by dramatically sliding 1,400 feet down a wooden ramp into the river.”

The relationship with Flat Branch and naming of the mess hall came from when then crew members had come to work out the namesake city details and ate at Flat Branch Pub, which was greatly enjoyed, Buffaloe said. Some of the interior design and even some of the equipment was designed in Columbia, thanks to D&M Sound, she added.

“The crew’s entertainment system was a gift from all three namesake cities and custom designed by Moore. The submarine proudly displays the black and gold from (the University of Missouri) with banners and posters from Mizzou athletics,” Buffaloe said.

The USS Columbia will be in service at least another 10 years, Foster said. Around the time it reaches the 40 years of service mark, the U.S. Navy will make a determination on whether that service will continue, he said.

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.