GROTON, Conn. (NNS) — USS Memphis (SSN 691) departed Naval Submarine Base New London May 6 on a surge deployment in support of the global war on terrorism.
Navy Newstand
From Commander, Submarine Group 2 Public Affairs
According to Cmdr. Joseph Wiegand, deputy commander for Operations and Training for Commander, Submarine Development Squadron (DEVRON) 12, surge deployments differ greatly from regularly scheduled deployments.
“Surge deployments are made to support real-world taskings from combatant commanders,” he said.
Memphis’ surge deployment coincides with the scheduled deployment of USS Alexandria (SSN 757), also of DEVRON 12, and the surge deployment of USS Louisville (SSN 724) of Submarine Squadron 3 in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. All three submarines deployed during the first week in May.
“This is a prime example of the high demand for submarine capabilities in operational theaters around the world,” Wiegand said. “The combatant commanders count on our boats to engage with a range of different threats around the world. They rely on the inherent strengths of speed, persistence, firepower, and agility that only a submarine can provide.”
Memphis returned from a scheduled deployment in November and has remained in a surge-ready status for the past six months.
“All submarines completing a deployment remain surge ready and in a high state of training,” said Wiegand.
Over the past six months, the crew of Memphis and the staff of DEVRON 12 have trained closely with the newly activated Cell for Submarine Counter-Terrorism Operations (CSCO).
The CSCO continuously worked with Memphis in training for mission planning, special forces certifications, and presented real-time lessons learned from other currently deployed submarines.
“The nuclear-powered submarine continues to bring a lot to the table when it comes to the day-to-day operations in the global war on terrorism,” explained Lt. Cmdr. David Kelly, deputy director of the CSCO. “Our submarine force has never been in higher demand than it is today, including in the heyday of the Cold War.”
Kelly added that nuclear-powered submarines are unique in that they are the one platform that can conduct forward missions against threats from traditional naval forces as well as engage in missions against the more elusive and scattered terrorist threats.
Missions that fast-attack submarines like Memphis conduct in support of the GWOT include intelligence-gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance, information operations, strike operations and special operations forces missions.
This surge deployment is a part of the Fleet Response Plan (FRP), a program developed to change the way Navy ships deploy and to provide the United States with a greater range of naval options, adding the element of flexibility to naval efficiency.
The idea behind FRP is to keep the Navy ready to surge and to vary the lengths of deployments, meaning the Navy will be ready to deploy whenever, wherever.
Perhaps im missing something obvious here, but… What possible use is a submarine against terrorists? They are not known for posessing warships to torpedo. And if memory serves me correctly, most of the countries that may be considered to be involved, directly or indirectly, in supporting terrorists are, well, landlocked. Including baddie-of-the-moment Iran. Submarines are good for fighting technologically advanced enemies with a navy to attack.
Wait… the Memphis? Ah, that explains it. I dismissed the mention of “intelligence-gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance, information operations” as exageration, since terrorists dont do their plotting underwater. But if its the Memphis, they make sense. Memphis is – or at least was, since all recent documents are still classifies – equiped to tap into undersea fiber connections and analyse traffic on them. Just the type of thing you want if you would like to know what people in one country are saying to those in another and neither is on good enough terms with the US to put in a listening post safely.
Submarines might also be usful for dealing with the pirate problem off Somalia.
Let’s see, what good would a submarine be? Oh yea, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait the United Arab Emeritus and Oman all border the Persian Gulf. Last I knew that was quite a large body of water. Come to think of it, a good portion of the world’s oil flows through the Persian Gulf. Doesn’t Libya also border the Mediterranean Ocean? I think someone needs to brush up on their Geography Suricou.
Isn’t Iran one of the largest supporters of terrorism in the world. If I’m not mistaken Iran has a navy capable of sinking Commercial Maritime Traffic. Don’t you think a submarine located someplace in the Gulf would be a deterrent to any hostile actions by Iran.
If you were Ali-Baba sitting making threats and you knew somewhere out their in the ocean was a submarine with missiles that could rain death and destruction upon your nation in a matter of seconds, you might think twice about starting trouble. You may shoot off your mouth but that’s all punks do, you wouldn’t have to guts to actually try something.
BobF,
Subs also make it easier for insertion and extraction of Special Forces into the countries that you mention.
The Memphis could be going to the Persian Gulf
and she could be running escort for a BOOMER
if I were Ali-Baba I would wonder if there was
something lurking out there with enough Nuclear
war heads to remove Iran from the face of the
earth or 24 tubes with 4 war heads each,and
your question is??? That Raven is what subs can do…
Nuclear weapons are unusable except by the completly crazy, who fortunatly dont have them, or in retaliation against such crazies. And the US has plenty of capacity to destroy any country it chooses already, anyway.
My mistake, overlooking the persian gulf. I knew Iran had the UAE to the south, I didn’t realise there was a sizable area of water in between.