EDITOR’S COMMENTS
Leading the diverse and interesting material in this issue of SUBMARINE REVIEW is a special tribute to the Strategic Submarine Force delivered by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Colin L Powell, on the occasion of the completion of the 3,000th SSBN patrol by USS TENNESSEE (SSBN-734). General Powell’s words, however, are not just accolades for past deeds and congratulations for a major part of the Cold War victory, they are a very succinct and strong endorsement of the need for continuing such effort in the uncertain world to be faced by the United States in the days and years ahead. Many in the submarine community have recommended the Chairman’s speech to the REVIEW. We are honored to present it here for all our readers, and we do so in appreciation of the recognition accorded to our Force.
Several of the presentations given at the submarine Technology Symposium in May are also published in this issue as matters of particular interest and importance to members of the League. They range from the cogent geo-political view offered by Mr. Bob Murray, through the strategic-organizational picture as seen by Professor Jim Tritten, to the political-programmatic realities of congressional action by Mr. Ron O’Rourke. Finally, Admiral Shap Shapiro’s words about the threat should serve as a damper to over-optimism about the new world order.
An interesting literary side note emerged from the June Symposium. One of the Chapter representatives who has been involved in making League presentations to junior submariners was asked by a young officer to recommend some non-technical reading about submarines. It was decided to publish such a bibliography in the REVIEW. Accordingly, it is requested that those members with recommendations send their choices of selected readings to the Editor and we will publish a first cut in the October issue.
A great deal of coverage has been given to the SEAWOLF issue over the past year or so, both in the general press and in these pages. Admiral Kauderer briefly describes the League’s efforts in his notes. IN THE NEWS summarizes several of the pertinent news stories with reprints from the nation’s papers. Ron O’Rourke may have the most concise wrap-up in his paper with his remark on “the termination of the SEAWOLF pro-gram.” The final word may well go, however, to ex-SecNav John Lehman at a recent meeting of the Naval & Maritime Correspondents’ Circle. Mr. Lehman was asked what had gone wrong with the SEAWOLF and he answered, “Nothing was wrong with the SEAWOLF, it was the times that changed.”
Jim Hay
FROM THE PRESIDENT
With the publication of this volume of THE SUBMARINE REVIEW, we mark the end of an exciting calendar quarter. The 1992 Submarine Technology Symposium at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory was, once again, a great success. One of two SEAWOLF aass SSNs, previously cancelled as a budget reduction measure by the Administration, was restored and funded. And the Annual NSL Symposium and Business Meeting was well-received by the faithful.
SubTech featured keynote addresses by Vice Admiral Roger Bacon, Assistant CNO (Undersea Warfare) and Mr. Gerry Cann, Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition). Roger presented his vision of the future of submarine warfare, while Gerry described the grim realities of a budget in “free-fall” and the impact on procurement. Our luncheon speakers, Mr. Robert J. Murray, President, Center for Naval Analyses, and Mr. Ronald O’Rourke, Specialist in National Defense, Congressional Research Service, addressed, respectively, the rapidly changing geopolitics of the new world and the Navy’s role therein, and a wake-up call to our Force to come out of the closet and educate the Congress and the staff on the versatility and importance of submarines to our national strategy. Banquet speaker Dr. Victor Reis, Director, Defense Research and Engineering, presented the new plan for technol-ogy development and transition to acquisition in an era of reduced budgets. In an effort to bring as much of this thinking, and that of some of the unclassified papers, to our membership as quickly as possible, we have included several of the presenta-tions in this issue of the REVIEW for you. The League owes a special expression of appreciation to the five Session Chairmen for their efforts: Professor James J. Tritten, U.S. Naval Post-graduate School; Dr. Edward Y. Harper, AT&T Bell Laborato-ries; Mr. Richard E. Metrey, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division; RADM G. H. B. Shaffer, USN{Rel), Martin Marietta Aero and Naval Systems; and RADM Sumner Shapiro, USN{Ret.), former Director, Naval Intelligence; and especially to the Program Chairman, Dr. H. Lee Dantzler, Jr., and the Arrangements Chairman, Mr. Ralph Brown, both of the Applied Physics Laboratory. It was a pleasure to work with such an outstanding group of superstars!
The battle for SEAWOLVES spanned about two months. Your League leadership was heavily involved in a program to educate the public and the news media on the important and growing role submarines play in our defense posture, the fragility of the very thin and unique technology and industrial base that supports the Force, and the risk inherent in a disruption of the submarine building cycle prior to the advent of the New Attack Submarine (Centurion) about 1998. In the end, the industrial base and jobs won the day. The education process will continue.
As for the Annual Symposium, I told you in the last issue that it would be a winner — and it was. From the very fliSt event, Lance Schultz and his film taken aboard a TYPHOON SSBN enroute to patrol, to the banquet address by Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, the program was exciting. RADM Ralph Tindal described the stand-up of the new Strategic Command, the Force Commanders, VADM Hank Chiles and RADM Hank McKinney, discussed new and innovative operations, VADM Roger Bacon projected the future of the Force, including a view from the recently conducted submarine flag officer conference in Monterey, while Congressman Ron Machtley enjoined us to get over to the hill to carry out missionary work for submarines. The program included addresses by RADM John Mitchell, Director, Strategic Systems Project Office, Admiral Bruce DeMars, Director Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, Captain Joe McCleary, Office of Legislative Affairs, RADM Mike Barr, Commander, Naval Recruiting Command, Ambassador Lint Brooks who spoke of START and the implications for our SSBN force, and our luncheon speaker, RADM Ted Sheafer, Jr., the Director, Naval Intelligence, with a sobering assessment of the real threat
The high point of the Symposium may have been the presentation of our annual NSL Fleet Awards. For everyone present it had to be a special thrill to see the superb quality of the officers and enlisted men and women who continue to man our Force. The people of the United States are fortunate to have such bright, young, dedicated professionals serving in their defense
special note: We continue to be asked if certain submarine special operations have been declassified so that participants would be able to discuss details with the press, or even publish them as part of their memoirs. Without exception, those operations remain classified and are not releasable to the public. You must assume that the personal security safeguards enacted for each operation remain legally (and morally) binding. I trust that message is
Bud Kauderer
