The attack submarine USS Jacksonville sailed 6,000 miles from the East Coast to Hawai'i in just less than a month's time, stopping in its namesake city in Florida and passing through the Panama Canal along the way.

Cmdr. Tyler Meador, the sub's commander, said the crew had come off a European Command deployment in 2008, "so they'd done a lot of cold-water operations, and I think there was a lot of enjoyment about getting down in the warm waters."

No need for the orange exposure suits known as "pumpkin suits."

"We didn't have to wear those. We could actually go up on the bridge and go topside without face masks and all the gear normally associated with cold-weather operations," Meador said.

As it entered the Pacific and eventually arrived at its new home port of Pearl Harbor on April 3, the Los Angeles-class submarine also entered a new era: It's the latest sub to be switched from one side of the U.S. to the other as the Navy continues a shift that will position 60 percent of its attack subs in the Pacific, and 40 percent in the Atlantic.

By the end of 2009 — and with the arrival at Pearl Harbor this summer and fall of two Virginia-class subs, the Hawai'i and Texas — 31 of the Navy's 53 fast attack submarines will be homeported in the Pacific Ocean, with 22 in the Atlantic.

Eighteen submarines will be based out of Pearl Harbor alone.

Meador said there won't be a lot of sitting around.

"I think in the Pacific, it's incredibly important to have submarines (and) a strong presence in the Asia-Pacific theater," he said.

Attack submarines can defend against other subs, shadow carrier strike groups, conduct covert surveillance as nations like China become increasingly territorial, and launch Tomahawk cruise missiles.

The new Virginia-class subs have the ability to maneuver closer to shore, and have lockout chambers for up to nine commandos.

"We're a high-demand, low-density asset, so whether you are a Virginia-class or Los Angeles-class, the key is to have a submarine available to put in the right place at the right time, and that's what we're here for — to provide that covert presence," Meador said.

GROWING PRESENCE

By the end of this year, at least seven subs will have been moved to the Pacific since 2007 — two Seawolf-class, three Los Angeles-class and two Virginia-class, with more of the new Virginia-class subs expected to be homeported at Pearl Harbor as they are built.

Three Los Angeles-class attack submarines are based in Guam; six are in California, with a seventh, the USS Albuquerque, expected this summer; and all three Seawolf-class subs are in Bremerton, Wash.

Additionally, eight Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines operate out of Puget Sound, along with two of the former "boomers" that were converted to carry 66 or more commandos and up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles.

The Navy said dozens of countries, including North Korea and Iran, have quiet diesel electric subs, and more than 180 foreign submarines operate in the Pacific within reach of critical chokepoints and navigational sea lanes.

Australia wants 12 new submarines and China has eight new kilo-class subs and a new naval base on Hainan island, called the "Hawai'i" of China.

The sub buildup in the Pacific has been called an arms race by some, and a sign of economic prosperity by others.

PACIFIC EMPHASIS

The 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review, a 20-year planning road map for the U.S. military, called for 60 percent of attack submarines to be based in the Pacific, and 40 percent in the Atlantic by 2010.

During the height of the Cold War, about 60 percent of U.S. attack subs were based in the Atlantic, the Navy said. When the Cold War ended, the balance was shifted to 50-50. Now it's tilting to the Pacific.

"I think if you take a look at where you are most likely to use them — obviously it's in the Pacific," said Lawrence Korb, a former assistant secretary of defense and now an analyst at the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank.

"China is a rising naval power, India is, and if you look at the situation in the Atlantic with the end of the Cold War, there's not really anybody in the Mediterranean that's going to cause you any problems," Korb said.

While some have raised alarm about China's military growth, Korb said he doesn't see China wanting to project that power.

"It's obviously going to want to protect itself and I think we shouldn't over-react," Korb said. "People will say, 'Gee, the Chinese are building a submarine.' Well, so are we."

WELCOMING PARTY

The Jacksonville, nicknamed "The Bold One," was commissioned in 1981 and received a reactor refueling in 2006, officials said.

The 360-foot, Los Angeles-class attack submarines, with one nuclear reactor, displacement of 6,900 tons and a crew of about 140, were first deployed in 1976.

Meador, the Jacksonville's commander, said about two-thirds of his crew is single, but about 30 families are making the shift from Norfolk, Va. The fathers of 15 sailors made the trip from Norfolk to Jacksonville, Fla. on the sub as part of a Navy tradition called a "tiger cruise."

The USS Hawai'i, the state's namesake sub and the first of the Virginia-class expected at Pearl Harbor, is anticipated to arrive from the East Coast in late July.

The Virginia-class subs are 377 feet long, cost $2.4 billion to $2.7 billion, and have improved stealth and surveillance capabilities.

The Texas, another Virginia-class sub, will follow in the fall. U.S. Pacific Fleet said that all Virginia-class subs initially will be homeported at Pearl Harbor and Groton, Conn.

A reception is being planned for the USS Hawai'i coinciding with the celebration of the 50th year of statehood.

Bob McDermott, executive director of the Navy League of the U.S., Honolulu Council, said Gov. Linda Lingle, who was the "sponsor" of the submarine and took part in its commissioning, will present a state flag for the vessel to fly as it enters Pearl Harbor.

Commemorative coins also are planned tying in the arrival of USS Hawai'i with statehood.

McDermott said plans are still being made for the arrival, but one thought is to open Ford Island for spectators to see the Hawai'i come through the channel and dock at the aircraft carrier pier across from the island.

"I know they (the Navy) want to open it to the public as practically as possible," McDermott said.