Posted on: Saturday, October 30, 2004
Navy may base more subs in Pacific
By Frank Oliveri
Gannett News Service
WASHINGTON — U.S. Navy officials are debating whether to base more attack submarines in the Pacific, where tension, potential terrorism and economic growth are on the rise.
Rear Adm. Joseph Walsh, director of the Navy's Submarine Warfare Division, said the U.S. military is looking to increase its capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region and the demand for attack submarines appears to be greatest there.
"There is a growing economic shift of importance toward the Pacific," Walsh said. "Many countries in the Pacific are growing economically and growing militarily."
The Navy is conducting an internal study in which between nine and 11 attack submarines potentially would be stationed off Guam, including the three already based there. But a final decision is not expected for more than a year, Walsh said.
If the Navy were to choose that course, the effects in the region would be significant:
• The Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard may require expansion. It is one of three Navy shipyards able to overhaul submarines, but it is at capacity, Walsh said. Pearl Harbor is also the home for 17 attack submarines. • Guam would require housing, hospital, sewer and water and road upgrades to accommodate more than 1,000 sailors and their families. Each submarine has a crew of about 150. Navy officials and experts said the economic impact on Guam and Hawai'i could be significant.
Sailors, for example, pay federal income taxes that would come back to Guam. To staff nine to 11 submarines in Guam, Navy officials said annual salaries for sailors and other personnel would be about $9 million per boat.
Additionally, sailors buy things such as food, clothing and cars, said Lt. Jon Spiers, a Navy spokesman. Construction dollars also would pour into Hawai'i and Guam for road, housing and other infrastructure improvements.
"The logistical trail to Guam runs through Hawai'i, so any boost for Guam will also benefit our economy," said Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee. "We provide the platform for command and control, administrative functions, maintenance and other services. That means jobs, construction and more federal investment in Hawai'i."
Attack submarines perform a number of missions, including stealthy intelligence gathering and surveillance, transporting special operations forces and launching cruise missiles. They also are potent weapons against enemy shipping and submarines.
Walsh said the Navy has balanced its attack submarine force with 27 in the Atlantic Fleet and 27 in the Pacific Fleet. Each fleet typically would provide one submarine to support the commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East and other hot spots.
But recently Walsh said the balance has changed. Atlantic Fleet now provides two submarines to Central Command and operates two submarines in the Pacific to assist there.
"That tells us we need to have this conversation," Walsh said.
Guam is considered a key staging area for submarines because of its proximity to China and Taiwan, North Korea and the Philippines. Being closer to those areas means the submarines spend less time in transit and more time on patrol. It also would enable the Navy to reduce the time crews spend at sea away from their families.
The Navy loses many days of service time when submarines must travel from locations in the western Pacific thousands of miles back to Pearl Harbor or San Diego, said Ron O'Rourke, a Navy expert at the Congressional Research Service.
Gaining efficiency is important as the Navy tries to align long-range budgets, mission needs and plans to modernize. The Navy, for example, could reduce the overall size of the attack submarine force from a goal of 55 boats, which would help it to pay for new Virginia-class attack submarines. The first Virginia-class sub was delivered last week.
The Congressional Budget Office pointed out earlier this year that if the Navy were to base up to 11 attack submarines on Guam, it would cost about $200 million in construction to support the move. But the construction cost is less than 10 percent of the cost of one Virginia-class submarine, which is worth $2.3 billion.
If more attack submarines are based at Guam, the budget office reasoned, then the Navy wouldn't need to buy as many of the new subs.
"Guam buys you a lot," said Bob Work, a senior analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment. "I think what the Navy is trying to figure out is how much do you expand."
Work said Hawai'i would need to expand its shipyard because typhoons hit Guam at least once a year, and more maintenance facilities would need to be at Pearl Harbor.
But Walsh said the Navy could take more than a year to make a final decision on how forces will be placed in the Pacific. He said the Navy wants to spend time studying how efficiently the submarines on Guam operate. Correction: There are 17 Navy submarines at Pearl Harbor. A previous version of this story contained incorrect information.
