Navy's submarine force in crisis

By 2004, the number of submarines available to conduct critical intelligence,

surveillance and reconnaissance missions will be at 45 — the lowest in decades

and a far cry from the 68 submarines Navy commanders say they must have

to meet the nation's security needs.

Modern submarines play a vital role in supporting senior government

policy-makers and military commanders with real-time signals intelligence

and other information about hot spots around the globe. Unlike many other

intelligence-gathering systems, the stealthy characteristics of submarines

allow them to enter crisis areas unnoticed, deploy a rich complement of

surveillance and reconnaissance systems and transmit that information to

decision-makers.

Today the Navy operates a force of 56 submarines, down from a Cold War-era

high of 99, and the total will continue to decrease. In 2004 the Navy will

have 45 submarines but will be able to deploy only nine at a time worldwide

because of rigorous maintenance requirements, according to Rear Adm. John

Padgett III, commander of Submarine Group Two Navy Region Northeast.

According to Padgett, who submitted written testimony this week to the

House Armed Services Committee, the shortage of submarines has forced the

Navy to "repeatedly say no to important requirements in the interests of

long-term sustainability."

In 1999, the Navy decommissioned 20 percent of its Atlantic Fleet attack

submarine force, but demands for submarine intelligence and surveillance

have more than doubled in the past 10 years, according to Padgett. The result

has been that the Navy's Atlantic Fleet has only five attack submarines

available for operations at any given time.

The Pacific Fleet is facing similar challenges, said Rear Adm. Albert

Konetzni, commander of the Pacific Fleet Submarine Force. The United States

can deploy 26 submarines in the Pacific, but there are 268 non-U.S. submarines

operating in the Pacific, including 19 belonging to nations that would not

be considered friendly to the United States, Konetzni said. He said the

Pacific Fleet desperately needs at least 35 submarines.

"I must forcefully state that 68 [submarines] is the [total] number

of attack submarines the nation needs," Padget said in his written testimony.

"I believe that we are at a critical decision point with respect to

the Navy's submarine force," said Armed Services Committee chairman Rep.

Floyd Spence (R-S.C.). "We must commit to buying more attack submarines

than the current budget envisions."