January15, 2007:
The U.S. Navy has ordered its 70 submarines (52 SSNs, or fast attack
submarines, 14 SSBNs, or ballistic missile submarines and four SSGNs or cruise
missile submarines) to "stand down" and review basic procedures. This was
prompted by a rash of accidents lately. Just in the last month, two sailors
drowned when four of them were swept off the deck of a sub as it departed a
British port, and encounteed rough seas. In the Persian Gulf, another sub
bumped into an oil tanker, suffering minor damage. But in the last five years,
there have been four other collisions. There have been many other incidents
that didn't make the news, because they occurred inside the subs, and resulted
in no fatalities, or, often, no injuries. But senior navy commanders are
getting the impression that all is now well on those seventy boats. We're
talking about a small force here, about 10,000 sailors. Between them, they
operate the most powerful naval force that ever existed, and they do it largely
out of sight. Consider that the SSNs can take on any warship, and be the
favorite to win. The SSBNs carry enough warheads to end civilization as we know
it. The SSGNs can put more firepower on a target at one time, than an aircraft
carrier.
Because
the submarine service is an elite force, standards for its personnel are very
high, it's always a struggle to get enough people. Recruiting standards have
been maintained, but there is a feeling that the crews are not as sharp as they
used to be. For a long time, this was dismissed as post-Cold War malaise. But
now the admirals are paying more attention to the chiefs (Chief Petty Officers,
senior NCOs) complaints about how much tighter things were back-in-the-day.
While
the submariners no longer have the Soviets to play with, they do have a new
crop of potential foes who may be even more formidable. The Soviet subs and ASW
(anti-submarine warfare) forces were numerous, but never up to American
standards. In peacetime, subs, and ASW forces, got a lot of opportunities to
stalk each other. In the last decade, there have been indications that American
subs are losing some of the edge they always held over potential opponents. The
Russians are still out there, although in much smaller numbers, but with better
equipment. The Chinese navy is growing, and their subs are being found more
often, better trained and equipped, and farther away from China.
The
U.S. submarine force has also suffered a lot of cutbacks since 1991, including
the cancellation of the Seawolf class boats (after only two were built as SSNs, plus a third that was converted to a specialized intelligence collection ship), and a
more austere design for the new Virginia class boats, than many submariners
wanted. While some details of submariner heroics, during the Cold War, have
been released, the underwater sailors still feel unappreciated. It's tough duty
in the subs, with little room for error. And now the admirals are demanding a
review of how things are done.