US - Budget cuts could jeopardize U.S. submarine force

It's the mission of America's submarine force: to dominate the underseas.

But some are now questioning whether budget cuts could put that mission at risk.

Groton, Conn. bills itself as the submarine capital of the world and with electric boat building subs and the navy basing subs there they could be right. As you say, though, the biggest threat to that could come from Washington.

U.S. Navy Admiral Jon Greenert joined Congressman Joe Courtney on a tour of the Mississippi, the latest attack submarine built by Electric Boat in Groton, Conn. Afterward, the Admiral had some good news for EB.

"I've authorized the acceptance, delivery of the USS Mississippi right behind you. An awesome, awesome ship," says Adm. Jon Greenert, U.S. Navy.

Also awesome is EB's delivery of the boat a year early and under budget. The plan going forward is for two new attack subs per year. The admiral says even in a post-Cold War world, where the focus is the war on terror, attack subs are still key to America's defense.

"If you look at the Libya operations that delivery in the opening days of the Libya operations predominantly were submarine. If you look at where we get a good bit of our intelligence, our surveillance and the reconnaissance a lot of it is from the submarine force," says Adm. Greenert.

He adds the sub force provides what he calls "a known unknown" that is unnerving to adversaries.

"Our job is to own the undersea domain and that's our job of the future," the Navy Admiral says.

It wasn't that long ago that there was talk of closing the sub base, which is just up river from EB. The congressman says that talk is still out there and he's ready to handle it.

"We know that this is an issue that we have to be extremely vigilante,” says Rep. Joe Courtney, D-CT Second District. “I feel very strongly that we've got a very powerful case, again, with the synergy with EB among others that this is a base that should be of enduring value."