First Lady Michelle Obama was in Rhode Island Monday to participate in a keel-laying ceremony for a submarine that will become the USS Illinois.
She spoke at Electric Boat's manufacturing plant in North Kingstown to mark the start of construction on the 13th Virginia-class submarine. Electric Boat’s primary operations are out of the Groton, Connecticut facility.
"Having Michelle Obama come here and thank us for that. And all the other dignitaries. It's a great thing. It's a wonderful feeling," William Powell, of Electric Boar, said.
Flanked by politicians and dignitaries, including Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and congressman Joe Courtney, the First Lady, as sponsor of a sub named after her home state, addressed the crew on hand and expressed gratitude for their service in the navy
"You are the kind of sailors willing to go to the depths of the ocean to protect all of our freedoms," she said.
In a Navy tradition, as the ship's sponsor, she wrote her initials on a metal plate, which was then made permanent by a welder and later mounted on the submarine.
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus delivered the keynote address.
The $2.7 billion boat is expected to be delivered to the Navy in August 2016.
