Local submarines chosen for first female crew members

Two Navy submarines built in part in Rhode Island and based in Groton, Conn., have been chosen as the first U.S. attack submarines that will have women in their crews, the Navy announced Tuesday.

 

The Virginia and the Minnesota, members of the Virginia class of nuclear submarines, will each have three female officers beginning no later than January 2015, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced in a statement.

 

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, of Rhode Island, a member of the Armed Services Committee, applauded the announcement. "I think it's a strong, positive step forward," he said in an interview. "It will increase the talent available to operate" Virginia-class submarines.

 

The three female officers on each of the submarines will share a three-person stateroom in a part of the boat reserved for officers, according to Lt. Timothy Hawkins, a spokesman for the submarines based at Naval Submarine Base New London, in Groton.

 

They will share bathroom and shower facilities with male officers, but the facilities will be scheduled so that they are for men part of the time and women at other times, Hawkins said. That same arrangement is used aboard Ohio-class ballistic- and guided-missile submarines, larger boats that already have women on their crews.

 

"No modification is necessary for the Virginia-class submarines that were selected," Hawkins said.

Each of the two subs will have one female supply officer and two female officers who are nuclear-trained and will work in a variety of departments onboard, such as engineering, navigation and weapons, Hawkins said.

 

Female supply officers already served aboard Navy surface vessels, so they will be selected as more seasoned officers to mentor the other two, more junior officers, Hawkins said. He said that, typically, the junior officers will be ensigns when assigned to the submarine, while the supply officer will be a lieutenant junior grade or a lieutenant.

 

It will take until near the end of next year for the officers to report to the subs because the junior officers need to undergo a year of nuclear training before reporting for duty.

 

"There's a number of women in the training pipeline that have yet to receive their assignment," Hawkins said. "Only upon passing are you assigned the next step."

 

Women had been barred from serving on submarines until the Navy changed its policy in April 2010. Since that time, the Navy has assigned 43 women to six Ohio-class boats: the ballistic-missile submarines Wyoming, Louisiana and Maine; and the guided-missile submarines Florida, Georgia and Ohio.

 

Virginia-class submarines are built by General Dynamics Electric Boat in cooperation with Newport News Shipbuilding. Hull sections and interior components are built at Electric Boat's shipyard in Quonset Point, then barged to either Electric Boat's Groton shipyard or Newport News, in Virginia, depending upon which of the partners has been assigned final assembly of the boat.

 

Groton - Shays Clashes With McMahon Over Submarine Base

In some of his harshest comments yet, former U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays said Monday that Republican Linda McMahon is "clueless,'' "beyond an amateur,'' and not qualified to be a U.S. senator.

Shays made his remarks after McMahon said last week that she would be open to reviewing potential base closures, depending on which military operations would be cut.

Shays and others said the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) process could be disastrous for the Navy's submarine base in Groton and the nearby Electric Boat factory that builds nuclear submarines. The overall economic impact of the base and the factory to Connecticut is $4 billion annually and 31,000 jobs, officials said.

The base is not in any immediate danger of closure, and the next round in the BRAC process is not expected to start until 2015.

McMahon responded later Monday at the state AFL-CIO convention in Hartford, saying, "What I am stressing is that I will fight tooth and nail to keep our sub base open here in Connecticut because I believe it is not only central to our national defense but also to the economy.''

She added, "I'm not worried about the process. I'm worried about fighting for the sub base.''

But Shays said he is far more qualified to represent Connecticut in any potential battles to keep the submarine base open.

"First, she's clueless about the process,'' Shays said of McMahon. "I don't know how to say it any differently than that. And her people are clueless. Second, she doesn't have the experience or the knowledge to know how to fight this process.''

He said that McMahon's experience as a professional wrestling entrepreneur with Stamford-based WWE does not provide any background for handling the difficult questions on military spending and base closures.

"I think she is beyond an amateur,'' Shays told reporters at the U.S. Submarine Veterans Club. "This is an individual who has been in an arena, but it hasn't been a real arena. It is an arena that promotes bullying, degradation of women and minorities and those who have special needs. It's pretty incredible to think that the arena that she is in would prepare her for this [political] arena.''

He added, "She's not qualified to be the next senator, clearly. If you had enough debates, you would see it. That's why she doesn't want debates.''

At the moment, the candidates have only one more scheduled debate that is set for July 18 at NBC Connecticut in West Hartford.

The problem, Shays said, is that no one knows which bases will be on the BRAC list until after the lengthy studies are done and the recommendations are made by the Pentagon.

"This is such a basic concept,'' Shays told reporters. "For her to say that she would think that BRAC provides efficiencies after we've gone through five of them. For her to say that she would support it, unless the sub base was on it, just blew me away.''

McMahon also blasted Shays on Monday for multiple votes that he made as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, including BRAC votes dating to 1991. She said that he voted in 2002 to start the BRAC process that eventually threatened the Groton base years later.

McMahon added that Shays had voted in similar fashion to U.S. Rep. Christopher Murphy, the leading Democratic candidate in the race, as "typical career politicians'' on votes on defense issues.

Shays, though, said that McMahon had misunderstood his final BRAC vote, saying he only approved the recommendations for base closings after the proposed sub base closure in Groton had been removed from the bill.

"Once again, she's showing her ignorance. She's criticizing me,'' Shays said.

As they head toward the Republican primary on Aug. 14, Shays was trailing McMahon by 29 percentage points in the latest Quinnipiac University poll.

Shays surrounded himself Monday with local officials, including Groton Mayor Heather Somers, former Groton Mayor Jane Dauphinais, and former Sen. Catherine W. Cook, a Mystic Republican who served for 14 years in the state legislature.

"Trust me. The Pentagon, perennially, puts Groton on the list,'' Cook said.

The bruising 2005 battle over the submarine base was eventually won by Connecticut through the efforts of then-Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, then-U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman and then-U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd. Shays himself was part of the group that battled the closure, but he said that Simmons had done about 50 percent of the work of the entire group. Shays said he simply wants to avoid the entire struggle in the future.

"We know that we can't go through another round,'' Shays said. "We've learned from the past. No new BRAC. Period. Case closed. I will fight it as hard as I can possibly fight anything.''

US Senate candidates spar over Groton sub base

Connecticut's leading candidates for U.S. Senate are sparring over who is best-positioned to protect the Groton submarine base, a huge employer that is vulnerable to Pentagon spending cuts.

U.S. Rep Chris Murphy and former U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays are touting their Washington experience as they target former wrestling executive Linda McMahon, who says politicians like them carry some of the blame for the government being in such financial straits.

None of the candidates argues for anything less than an all-out effort to protect Naval Submarine Base New London. But the posturing over the last week highlights how candidates on both sides are trying to use a theme of government insider versus outsider to their advantage ahead of the November election.

Since the administration of President Barack Obama raised the possibility of base closings in January, Connecticut officials have been rallying to stress the importance of the sub base and the investments made by the state to increase its military value. The base was nearly closed in 2005 by a Base Closure and Realignment Commission, called BRAC, and many fear it soon will be targeted again.

On a visit Monday to Groton, Shays criticized McMahon, his rival for the Republican nomination, for telling a reporter from The Day on a stop there last week that her support for a BRAC round would depend on the proposed cuts. He noted Congress would have to authorize the process before the Pentagon announces the proposed cuts.

"She just really is frankly pretty clueless about this," said Shays, who served in Congress from 1987 until 2009.

Murphy, a Democrat, also said McMahon's initial comments suggest a lack of familiarity with the law surrounding BRAC. He said in an interview that discussion of a new round of base closings is premature because the government has not achieved the savings that the last round was designed to generate.

McMahon, who has the GOP endorsement in the Aug. 14 primary, has benefited from a political climate that does not necessarily favor experience in Washington. Her campaign lumped McMahon's rivals in with other elected officials in criticizing Congress for not doing more to avoid the need for cuts.

"Congress' failure to act is what has led us to this point of even having a discussion of a possible BRAC," said McMahon spokeswoman Erin Isaac, who added that Congress has not made any "meaningful" attempt to cut spending.

Isaac said McMahon would protect the base through a jobs plan that prioritizes defense spending.

Asked about criticism that her comment showed a lack of understanding, McMahon told reporters Monday that she is worried about fighting for the sub base, not the process.

"What I am stressing is that I will fight, tooth and nail, to keep our sub base open here in Connecticut because it is not only central to our national defense, but also to the economy of Connecticut. So, that's exactly where I'm going to be," she said after delivering a speech at the Connecticut AFL-CIO political convention.

The Groton base pumps $4.5 billion a year into Connecticut's economy and supports at least 15,000 jobs around the southeastern section of the state. Since escaping the last round of base closings, the state of Connecticut has committed $50 million for improvements to help increase the value of the base, which is the home port for about 16 nuclear-powered attack submarines.

Former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, a Shays supporter who led the charge to keep the base open in 2005, said he believes Shays is the only candidate with the political connections needed to help the base survive another potential BRAC.

"We're very vulnerable politically. We need a U.S. senator who knows the players and knows the game," Simmons said. "The consequences are potentially disastrous."

Robert Ross, the director of the state's Office of Military Affairs, said whoever wins the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Joseph Lieberman will have a significant responsibility to help keep the base open. But he said he expects whoever wins will be a quick study.

"They'll come up to speed very quickly, just like Senator Blumenthal did," Ross said.

"Make-a-Wish" teen visits U.S.S Dallas

Make-a-Wish teen Fabian Martinez took a tour of the U.S.S Dallas on June 19 as part of his wish. Commanding Officer Cmdr. Jack Houdeshell hosted the 12-year old and his mother, during a tour aboard the Los Angeles-class submarine.

Martinez submitted his wish through Make-A-Wish to one day attend a PGA golf tournament and meet professional golfers.

Birdies for the Brave, a national military outreach initiative supported by the PGA TOUR, requested a tour of a submarine through Commander, Submarine Group 2 while Fabian and his family were attending this week's Travelers Championship.

Fabian's mother, Cathy Silguero, emphasized the importance of this visit and the long-lasting impact it will have on her son, who has osteosarcoma, a cancerous bone tumor.

Prior to the tour aboard USS Dallas, Fabian received a surprise "promotion" when Commander, Submarine Group 2 Chief of Staff Capt. Mike Bernacchi pinned his aiguillette to the honorary submariner's sleeve.

Six-time PGA TOUR champion Rory Sabbatini and his wife Amy accompanied Fabian and his mother on the tour aboard USS Dallas.

Sub base backers dig in

Photo courtesy of Electric Boat 

While Connecticut’s congressional delegation says another round of base closings is dead on arrival, supporters of the Navy’s submarine base in the Groton area already on the defensive.

While Connecticut’s congressional delegation says another round of base closings is dead on arrival, supporters of the Navy’s submarine base in the Groton area already on the defensive.

“We’re preparing like crazy as if it were happening tomorrow,” New London Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio said of another Base Closing and Realignment Commission, or BRAC.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta wants two more rounds of base closings, in 2013 and 2015, to eliminate excess capacity as the military is streamlined.

But members of Congress who would have to authorize another round of base closings are strongly opposed to another BRAC because they want to save local facilities. Lawmakers also don’t want to spend the huge upfront costs of shuttering facilities as they try to find savings to shrink the budget deficit.

Congress’ opposition to another BRAC was encouraging to communities who depend on military facilities for jobs and revenue. But Robert Ross, executive director of Connecticut’s Office of Military Affairs, is taking no chances.

To Ross, a retired naval commander, a new BRAC “is not a question of if, but when.”

He said nobody expected the Naval Submarine Base New London to be on the Pentagon’s hit list in the last BRAC, which occurred in 2005. But it was.

“We don’t want to be surprised again,” Ross said.

He thinks Congress may fend off another BRAC next year, but may not be able to in 2014.

After the Naval Submarine Base New London narrowly avoided being closed in 2005, the state created the Office of Military Affairs to watch out for it on a fulltime basis.

The state also has a top Washington lobbying firm on retainer, Mercury/Clark & Weinstock. Since 2009, that firm has been paid more than $200,000 to look out for military interests in the state.

Connecticut has taken an even bigger step to protect the base, which generates $4.5 billion each year in revenue and is responsible for about 15,000 jobs on and off the base.

Through the sale of bonds, the state has raised $50 million to help modernize and improve the base.

About $11 million has already been spent on a new boiler for the facility and to buy up land north and south of the base. The land purchases are aimed at stopping “encroachment” of residential and commercial buildings that would prevent the base from expanding, something that could doom it in a base closing round. “We’re in a good position this time around and we weren’t the last time,” Ross said.

Connecticut politicians have also mobilized for another BRAC.

A steady stream of state officials and federal lawmakers has lobbied Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and other Navy brass on the strengths of the submarine base in Groton — which include its proximity to submarine maker Electric Boat.

Gov. Dannel Malloy and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., are among those who’ve met with Mabus since Panetta made his announcement on base closings in January.

“Forging a relationship with the Navy secretary can only help us as we navigate the BRAC process in the years ahead,” Malloy said.

The Subase Coalition, a community group that fought to keep the Groton sub base open during the last base-closing round, has reconfigured itself and held a couple of planning sessions since the specter of another BRAC appeared in January.

“We’re not far enough down the track to take any action,” said Danny Hicks, a retired Navy captain who belongs to the coalition. “But we’re ready.”

Naval Submarine Base New London’s likely rivals in another BRAC are also taking protective actions.

Besides Connecticut’s facility, there are two other bases on the Atlantic that serve as homeports for submarines. They are Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia and Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia.

Supporters of the base in Norfolk also have a Washington lobbyist on call. In addition, the Virginia’s assembly and the city of Virginia Beach appropriate $15 million every year to buy properties so their sub base has room to grow in a heavily populated area.

In addition, a retired admiral heads a community group, the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Association, keeping an eye on what goes on in Washington.

Jack Hornbeck, a member of that group and president of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, said he isn’t too concerned about new base closings because the area has “benefitted both positively and negatively” by previous rounds. That is to say, the heavy concentration of military facilities in the area — home of the Atlantic Fleet and three Army bases — has both lost missions and gained them.

“But we’re not going to be complacent in any way, shape or form,” Hornbeck said.

Steve Crowell, the mayor of St. Marys, Ga., a neighbor to the Kings Bay base, said local communities are conducting a joint land use study with the naval facility to determine if there are encroachment issues.

Delegations from the area have also made their way to Washington to lobby Navy officials about Kings Bay.

Crowell said local base boosters “certainly have the same concerns” about the prospect of another BRAC that are held by supporters of the Groton sub base.

“But we haven’t gone into panic mode yet,” Crowell said.