SS News Daily for 19DEC05

U.S. officials in Iraq knew that a contractor was paying local papers. Discretion was the key

Sonalysts Awarded More Than $13M In Navy Contracts

The nearly $11 million contract will provide new employment opportunities for former submarine officers and technicians

Volunteers Will Provide ‘Human Touch' At Sub Museum

2006 Joint Undersea Warfare Technology Spring Conference

Click Here to send an e-mail to subscribe to your daily source of submarine news and information.

AIM-9X Land Launch Demonstration milestone advances submarine payload capability

Leveraging the Sidewinder AIM-9X missile, developed for use on tactical fighter aircraft, the Navy successfully conducted a Research and Development (R&D) land based test at an Army range in New Mexico to proof out critical missile adaptation features for submarine use. Among the test objectives achieved were the ability to vertically launch the missile from zero velocity and to Lock-On-After-Launch.

The test was a collaborative effort between the Joint Program Office for Air to Air Missiles (SIDEWINDER AIM-9X), Raytheon Missile Systems and Team Submarine Advanced Research (SEA 073). Captain Mark Bock of Team Submarine Undersea Defensive Systems Program Office led this effort.

The land-launched test involved detecting, tracking and destroying an unmanned helicopter drone. The target was not visible to the missile at launch. The missile turned and acquired the target several miles down range remaining locked on until intercept. Aside from the zero air speed vertical launch, this test was also the first AIM-9X launched from an Army Chaparral trailer, the first AIM-9X to engage a target below 3000 feet or 300 knots and the first AIM-9X launch using a commercial off the shelf fire control system.

Because the AIM-9X missile is a good choice for R&D of small missile payloads for SSGN and attack submarines, the results can be extended to other missile payloads and different platforms such as the Littoral Combat Ship. The next step in the R&D process is to analyze the vertical launch thrust characteristics (gas production and temperature) in support of encapsulation for an underwater test. According to CAPT Bock, planning for in-water testing of the capability is currently underway. “The ‘encapsulation’ technique will be the forerunner for deploying air breathing payloads like unmanned aerial vehicles from submarines in the future,” he added.

The most mature of these encapsulation technologies, the Stealthy Affordable Capsule System or SACS, will be leveraged for the next phase of risk reduction testing. This effort, led by the Northrop Grumman Corporation, will demonstrate the capability to encapsulate and perform submerged launch of the AIM-9X from a launch fixture representative of a submarine Vertical Launch System that is currently used to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles. The long range goal for this research is to be able to field any existing DoD payload onboard submarines rapidly at low cost.

U.S. sub may have toured Canadian Arctic zone

A U.S. nuclear submarine cruised through the Arctic Ocean last month -- probably passing through Canadian territorial waters -- but the federal government is refusing to say whether it gave permission for the voyage.

However, experts say it is highly unlikely Canada was even notified of the USS Charlotte's northern tour, which included a Nov. 10 stop at the North Pole, because it has no way of tracking what goes on beneath the Arctic ice.

And that could threaten Canada's claim to hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of the North, including the Northwest Passage route across the Arctic, said Michael Byers, who holds the Canada research chair in global politics and international law at the University of British Columbia.

"This is very important -- it's crucial," he said. "Any unauthorized passage could have a serious effect on our claim."

Prof. Byers said potentially lucrative oil and gas resources off the Queen Elizabeth Islands could slip out of Canadian control if foreign navies are operating in the Arctic without our permission. "The fact of the matter is that we've spent nothing on Arctic sovereignty over the past 20 years."

Pierre Leblanc, a retired colonel and former commander of the Canadian Forces' northern command, said foreign submarines have been travelling through the Canadian Arctic for decades, but the federal government usually finds out about it only by accident.

He said the nations controlling the submarines -- the Americans, British and French -- usually do not tell Canada when their vessels enter the Arctic. "We're relying on their goodwill to know if they're in our waters or not."

The latest underwater trip through the Arctic came just before the federal election call last month. USS Charlotte, a Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine, left its home base in Pearl Harbor, sailed through the Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia and cruised under the Arctic ice pack to the pole.

The nuclear-powered sub spent more than 24 hours at the top of the world, giving its 154 crew members the chance to walk on the windswept ice and even play a quick football game in the -45C temperatures.

The Charlotte then submerged and headed to Halifax for a port visit, en route to a refit at the naval base at Norfolk, Va.

U.S. Navy spokesmen would not give details about the Charlotte's route, but the shortest southerly course would have taken it past Ellesmere Island, through the Nares Strait and into Canadian waters.

Col. Leblanc doubts the Americans informed the Canadian government of the trip, let alone sought permission for it. "I don't think they told us a thing: I don't think they told anyone," he said.

"In the submarine world, they don't tell anyone anything about where they go or when they go there unless they have to."

If the Charlotte did sail through Canadian territory en route to Halifax, the U.S. submariners likely believed they were fully entitled to do so.

Canada and the United States have disagreed for decades about the extent of Canada's territorial waters in the Arctic.

Canada claims water 12 nautical miles out from the Queen Elizabeth Islands, and all the straits and inlets as its internal waters. The Americans say those are international waterways that are free for anyone to cross, including the Northwest Passage.

Lieutenant-Commander John Coppard, a spokesman for the Canadian navy, would not say whether the U.S. sub strayed into Canadian territory, nor would he confirm whether the Americans sought our permission if so, or even notified Ottawa if the sub was to sail through the Canadian part of the Arctic.

"We do not discuss the movements of allied [nations'] submarines," he said, adding: "One would expect that a naval vessel transiting Canadian waters would seek the appropriate diplomatic clearances."

However, Rodney Moore, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs, said any notification would have come through military channels. "It probably wouldn't come to us and we wouldn't comment on it even if it did," he said. "If anyone had it, it would be DND [the Department of National Defence]."

Bill Graham, the Defence Minister, did not return telephone calls seeking comment on the issue.

David Rudd, the president of the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies, said successive federal governments have for decades pursued a policy he describes as "out of sight, out of mind."

"It's an unspoken policy of willful ignorance," he said. "If the public doesn't know about it, they're not going to agitate for more spending to monitor the North and protect our sovereignty. And serious surveillance of the North is a very expensive proposition."

Prof. Byers said Canada has only five small and ageing icebreakers, none of which is capable of operating year-round. "We have the longest coastline in the world, much of which is under ice for most of the year, and we don't even have an all-weather icebreaker," he said.

"We don't even have a federal government helicopter north of 60 -- not a single one."

He warned that if Canada cannot keep watch on its vast northern territory, we could lose control over the Northwest Passage, a 5,000-kilometre sea route through the Canadian Arctic that climatologists say could be open to commercial vessels within the next 10 years as a result of global warming and the retreating northern ice pack.

"Our enforcement capability is embarrassing," he said. "[And] that sends a message to other countries that we aren't really serious about our sovereignty or about enforcing our laws in our own territory."

Col. Leblanc said Canada is not even spending the bare minimum on northern sovereignty. While he was military commander in the North, he said even the handful of flights over the vast Arctic territory claimed by Canada were cut sharply.

"The number of planned observation flights in 2000 was zero. In '99, there were two," he said. "And this is for an area the size of Europe."

Navy Pitches To Build Training Range Off Carolina Coast

North Carolina lawmakers today will hear the Navy's pitch to build an anti-submarine warfare training range off the North Carolina coast -- despite contentions from opponents who say it will harm sea life and commercial fishing.

The Navy wants to build the range about 50 miles off shore from Camp Lejeune. The Navy plans to choose a site late next year and also is considering sites in Virginia and Florida.

But officials prefer North Carolina because of its proximity to military bases on the coast. The 98 million-dollar range would be used to train crews on ships, submarines and aircraft carriers to use sonar to detect and battle submarines.

Norfolk-based Navy spokesman Jim Brantly says the military wants to do things right. He says, "Just because we're the Navy doesn't mean we don't care."

CNO Mullen Outlines Plan For More Than 300-Ship Navy To Lawmakers

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Mullen spent Friday morning on Capitol Hill outlining his vision for building a more than 300 ship Navy that would cost $13.4 billion annually over the next 35 years to members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committee.

Lawmakers gave generally favorable reviews to the shipbuilding proposal, but concerns were raised about buying only seven DD(X) destroyers and maintaining an average of 11 aircraft carriers.

According to Navy budget documents, the Navy will maintain a 313-ship fleet that includes: 11 nuclear aircraft carriers, 19 cruisers, 62 destroyers, 7 DD(X) destroyers, 48 attack submarines, 14 ballistic missile submarines, 4 former ballistic missile submarines, 10 LPD-17s, 12 Maritime Preposition Force Future ships and variety of command and control and support ships. The actual fleet size varies from year to year as new ships retire and new ones are acquired, but it never dips below 300.

Mullen declined to talk with reporters following his meeting with several senators.

Navy shipbuilding backers have been lobbying for an increase in the naval fleet, which has recently fallen below 300 ships. They have argued building fewer ships puts national security at risk, costs more money and forces contractors to lay off a unique and highly skilled workforce.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-Va.) praised Mullen after meeting with him for "vigorously" developing a plan and understanding the importance of maintaining the nation's shipbuilding base. He said Mullen's projections were "in step" with the Pentagon's ongoing strategy and budget review, the Quadrennial Defense Review.

Warner declined to discuss many details of the plan, but noted that lawmakers were still hopeful of having a 12th aircraft carrier. Although, he conceded, maintaining 12 carriers in the near term by delaying the retirement of the USS Kennedy (CV-67) aircraft carrier could cost as much as $2 billion over six years in maintenance costs.

Rep Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.), chairman of the House Armed Services projection forces subcommittee, gave favorable review to Mullen's presentation, as well. "He told us where they'd like to go."

Rep. Robert Simmons (R-Conn.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee who has clashed with the Navy over plans to reduce its submarine workforce, also liked the Navy's proposed plan. "In many respects it was a very positive consultation," he said.

Simmons said the overall submarine fleet will still decrease (documents show it falling from 72 to 68 submarines), but he said that was far better than earlier projections. He noted they Navy had planned on having fewer than 40 attack submarines, but now that number has increased to 48.

Simmons said he also warned Mullen that shifting ship maintenance work away from contractors to Navy shipyards could lead to layoffs for contractors and raise future shipbuilding costs.

Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.), the top Democrat on the House Armed Services projection forces subcommittee, raised objections to the Navy's plan to only buy seven DD(X) destroyers, which could be built in his southern Mississippi district. He called the proposed buy "very small" and said the service would not achieve any economies of scale in cost, training or operating the DD(X)s with only seven in the fleet.

313-Ship Plan Could Cost Upward Of $20 Billion Annually, CBO Finds

A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report released Friday estimates that the Navy would have to have an annual ship construction budget of nearly $20 billion over the next 30 years in order to achieve a fleet of 313 ships by 2030.

"In order for the Navy to achieve a fleet of 313 ships by 2030, the service would need to buy 268 ships between 2006 and 2035--an average of 8.9 per year. Those purchases would require an annual budget of $19.6 billion through 2035 for new ship construction alone, about 35 percent more than the Navy's estimate," according to the report.

Adding in refueling for aircraft carriers and submarines would push the figure to $20.8 billion per year ($19.4 billion in FY '05 dollars), CBO says.

The Navy has stated its plan for a 313-ship fleet would require spending $13.4 billion annually on new ship construction ($14.4 billion in FY '07 dollars), over the next 30 years, excluding conversion programs and refueling of nuclear vessels.

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Projected Forces, requested the assessment of the Navy's plan for a fleet of 313 ships.

While Navy officials have said they plan to control ship construction costs more stringently, the $13.4 billion does not take into account the "higher inflation that the naval shipbuilding industry in the United States has been experiencing in the past decade," the report states.

In its 10-page report, CBO states analysis by the Navy indicates, "inflation in such programs is expected to be about 1.3 percent higher per year on average, than the inflation anticipated for the Department of Defense's procurement programs as a whole, at least through 2011."

"In addition, the Navy's estimate does not appear to include refueling for nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and ballistic missile submarines, which are funded in the Navy's principal shipbuilding account (shipbuilding and conversion, Navy)," according to the report.

The Navy and CBO differ on the cost of DD(X), the service's future multi-mission combat ship. In the Navy's most recent acquisition plan, the service intends to purchase seven instead of eight DD(X)s. The current acquisition strategy calls for both General Dynamics [GD] and Northrop Grumman [NOC] to simultaneously build dual lead ships. The remaining ships could either be built by both companies or in a single yard, however, that part of the acquisition strategy has not yet been worked out. The Navy anticipates awarding the construction contract in 2009.

Last week, defense bill conferees included language in their report to require that both companies build DD(X), according to sources. The final version of the bill has not been released.

"CBO estimates that the cost of the first ship would be $4.7 billion and that the average cost for a seven-ship class of DD(X)s would be $3.7 billion," the report states.

The Navy hopes to reduce the cost of the first two DD(X)s to $3.1 billion and follow-on ships to $2 billion, according to CBO. The report adds that the next-generation cruiser CG(X) would have a lower average cost than DD(X) because the Navy plans to buy 19 of them and some would be acquired at a rate of two per year, thus lowering the cost.

However, defense analysts have long asserted that if the cost of both DD(X) and CG(X) are too high the service may not be able to build both in the same year.

Under the Navy's $13.4 billion plan, in 2017 the service would add one CG(X) and one DD(X) to its inventory.

Another issue that could lead to higher future costs for ship construction could come by 2030 when the Navy would have to begin to replace the current fleet of Littoral Combat Ships. And CBO did not believe that the cost to build the future improved Virginia-class submarine (SSN-774X) would be less than the $2.6 billion cost to build the original Virginia-class.

In the 2020 time frame, the Navy would have to purchase replacements for its fleet of ballistic submarines (SSBN), at a rate of one per year, the report states. While the Navy has stated that new SSBNs would be smaller than the current Ohio-class submarines, CBO estimates that the cost of the new SSBN would "exceed $6 billion."

"Costs could vary considerably depending on the final design and weight of the replacement," the report states.

Rumsfeld On Increasing Fleet Size: Capabilities, Not Numbers, Count

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, asked about a plan to increase the Navy fleet size to 313 ships from the current 281 vessels, said it is capabilities that count, not numbers of ships.

The plan to bolster the fleet to a strength of 313 over many years is being advanced by Adm. Michael Mullen, chief of naval operations. His predecessor, Adm. Vern Clark, and Secretary of the Navy Gordon England previously had advanced a plan with a range of 260 to 325 ships and submarines by 2035.

Rumsfeld said there is too much focus on numbers, when the salient metric is the capability of weapons platforms together to place destructive power on targets.

The size of a force, and numbers of units in a force, is "the way we've always thought of it," but that thinking is wrong-headed, Rumsfeld said at a "Town Hall" meeting in the Pentagon for Department of Defense employees.

"We're trying to move away from size, numbers of things and mass," Rumsfeld said, and focus instead on the agility and speed of weapons platforms.

He noted that 50 dumb bombs may be required to destroy five targets, but a mere five smart bombs can do the same job.

Lighter, more agile and more intelligent systems "can be vastly more capable," he said.

Speed, too, can mean a platform can accomplish far more, far earlier in a combat campaign, compared to slow and ponderous assets, he said.

He noted, too, that with a smaller number of ships, the Navy nonetheless has obtained a great number of days on station, ready for action.

The Navy has used streamlined maintenance and ship overhaul procedures, swapping of crews on ships, forward stationing of ships near likely trouble spots and more to wring an increased number of days in action from the same fleet size.

Rather than numbers of ships, Rumsfeld said, the germane consideration is the total ability of whatever numbers of ships sail in the fleet to "put power on a target."

He also noted that the United States confronts "a different target today," referring to fast-moving, elusive insurgents, terrorists and rogue state units.

The secretary advised the Navy to "look at the ultimate effectiveness" of the fleet, whatever size it might be, "rather than numbers" of ships in the fleet.

If the fleet "is vastly more capable that" a previous larger fleet of old-technology ships, then "the deterrence effect is greater, and the [fighting ability] is greater."

He noted that the Navy, in responding to the tsunami in South Asia, demonstrated how rapidly the fleet can move when required.

Dolphin prepares for shallow-water research

USS DOLPHIN at sea – The crew of USS Dolphin (AGSS 555) got underway Dec. 12 in preparation for shallow-water acoustic torpedo testing that is scheduled to take place early next year.

The torpedo testing will involve the submersion of Dolphin in shallow waters to near-bottom depths, at which point Dolphin will become the target of deactivated torpedoes.

“We’re ideal for this test because we are small enough and have certain equipment like underwater cameras that let us get very close to the bottom,” said Lt. Cmdr. John Vlattas, executive officer and navigator.

In shallow water, targets are harder for submarines to hit because noise and reverberation on the sea floor limit the ability of torpedoes to pick out their target. The Navy’s goal in the experiment is to help develop a more capable torpedo armed with a more advance sonar system.

During its underway period, the crew ran through numerous drills involving various systems onboard in connection with the tests.

“As a crew, we need to prepare ourselves,” said Vlattas. “That involves understanding fine ship controls and systems that will be necessary for near-bottom operations. We also need to be perfect when it comes to damage control and firefighting.”

Though Dolphin, commissioned in the late ‘60s, is one of the oldest submarines and the only diesel-electric one left, it has been at the forefront of technology researching systems. With a crew of less than 50 Sailors, Dolphin is also smaller than its nuclear counterparts.

“Though we are not a war fighting vessel, our mission is just as valuable. We research and test the equipment the war fighting subs will use,” said Senior Chief Corpsman (SS) Jeff Riffle, medical department representative aboard Dolphin.

Dolphin can maintain more extensive onboard laboratory facilities than other deep submersible submarines. It can carry scientific payloads of more than 12 tons and take it to an unmatched recorded depth of more than 3,000 feet.

Dolphin was conducting similar acoustic torpedo experiments in May 2002 when its Sail Side Door failed to maintain a watertight seal, resulting in the flooding of the ship, which damaged electrical devices on board. After the incident, Dolphin’s crew and the Navy repaired and upgraded the boat.

“We changed a lot of the physical construction of the boat to ensure that situation can’t happen again,” said Electronics Technician 2nd Class (SS) Michael A. Shaw, who’s been on Dolphin since the accident. “We paid a lot of attention to fixing old problems and rewriting procedures to prevent new problems from arising.”

According to Cmdr. Andrew C. Wilde, commanding officer aboard Dolphin, the crew must adapt to new changes because they operate a unique submarine.

“Every other submarine in the fleet gains from hundreds of years of experience,” said Wilde, alluding to the new equipment Dolphin tests. “We have to write our own procedures and can’t depend on others. We have to be diligent and make sure they work and the ship is safe.”

Wilde took command of the ship November 2005 and said that as a new commanding officer he must rely on his crew.

“When a new crewmember steps on this boat everything is new,” said Wilde. “After a month, I already have a tremendous amount of confidence in these Sailors. They do their job with initiative and enthusiasm. The Navy would have a hard time operating without them.”

Athlete Now Naval Academy's First Black Commandant

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Back when Bruce Grooms was growing up the son of a mailman in a working-class Cleveland suburb, most people assumed he'd happily accept a basketball scholarship to a college in Ohio. They never figured he'd prefer a strict military academy.

Nor did they imagine he'd stick with the Navy long enough to build a groundbreaking career -- commanding nuclear submarines, working for a top Pentagon official, and this year becoming the first black commandant in the Naval Academy's 160-year history.

Grooms' new job, which makes him responsible for some 4,200 midshipmen, is comparable to a dean of students at a college. But it carries special prestige in the Navy because of the Academy's mission: grooming Navy leaders.

"That is a plum job," says Patrick Prout, a Naval Academy graduate and former president of Bank One, Cleveland. "The Navy is very careful in who it selects to be leaders of that institution."

Now 47, 6 feet 1, and graying at the temples, but still fit enough to regularly shoot hoops with his two sons, Grooms' next step would be to climb from his current rank of captain to admiral. That status is currently held by only eight black officers, a Navy spokesman says.

Retired Navy Vice Adm. Albert Konetzni Jr., who has known Grooms for almost two decades, says he has little doubt Grooms will make admiral and wouldn't be surprised if Grooms someday rises high enough to achieve the four-star status of full admiral. Only one black person in history, J. Paul Reason, has done that, says a Navy spokesman.

"This guy's the real McCoy," says Konetzni, who commanded the Pacific fleet submarine force in 1999 when Grooms won the Navy's James B. Stockdale Award for Leadership for his performance as skipper of the USS Asheville. "I really expect him to go all the way."

Konetzni says Grooms has several strong leadership traits: a keen sense of his own strengths and weaknesses, a willingness to tackle problems fast, an ability to motivate others, and the confidence to speak his mind to superiors and listen to underlings.

"He's as honest as they come and he's as humble as they come," says Konetzni. Douglas Feith, a former Pentagon undersecretary who was a leading architect of the Iraq war, says he was struck by Grooms' poise in the frenetic months after the Sept. 11 attacks, when Grooms was one of his military aides.

"When I think of Bruce, I think of a guy who can keep his head," says Feith. "We had an office that was the center of an unimaginable, torrential flow of work after 9/11. ... Having someone around who is gentlemanly and easy to work with and calms the waters is very important."

Some of the traits that have helped Grooms advance showed up early, say relatives and friends who talk admiringly of his low-key style, his role as captain of his high school basketball team and his decision years ago to move his mother to his home to care for her in her final months.

"Bruce has always shown leadership," says Doug Banks, a vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland who grew up with Grooms. "He wasn't the leader that would do the inspirational speeches, the rah-rah kind of leader. He was a leader that would lead by example."

Sitting recently in his spacious office at the Naval Academy, Grooms attributed his success partly to his mother, a strong-willed, devout woman who would force him to show her his homework before she let him go off to basketball practice.

"As a child, probably from diapers through the early years of high school, I carried a basketball everywhere I went," he says. "But I think my parents spent a lot of time talking about the what-ifs. ... Mom was that grounding force."

One of the most consequential people in his life, Grooms says, was a woman he barely recalls -- a counselor from the Cleveland schools, he thinks, who showed up one day in Maple Heights and suggested he apply to the Naval Academy because of his good grades and athletic talent.

"I would love to tell you that I had a calling to serve in the military," he says. "But the reality of it was that I didn't have a whole lot of choices available. And I didn't know a whole lot about the Navy. ... I didn't really know what was out in the world."

At the counselor's suggestion, he visited the Academy and found himself "spellbound." Grooms' memory of a sheltered background is echoed by his childhood friend from Maple Heights, which then had a small, tight-knit black community. Of about 500 students in his graduating class, fewer than 20 were black.

"No one expected any kids, any black kids in particular, from Maple Heights to do much of anything," says Doward Williamson, an account manager for a large pharmaceutical firm. "They were actively trying to shape us into going to trade schools."

Grooms, one of only seven black Americans to command a submarine in the first 100 years of the Navy's submarine service, is cautious when asked how race has affected his career.

"I understand the question, and it's awfully loaded, and I could probably talk for hours on that, and maybe we'll get another chance," he says with a smile.

Being the Academy's first black commandant, he says, isn't something he dwells on much.

"Frankly, people quickly look past the color," he says. "They look at the person. So I view this as a wonderful opportunity for people to see me as a person."

Others who know him say, without giving specifics, that Grooms has had his share of race-related challenges.

"He really had a lot of hard knocks," says his sister, Julie Perry. "He may not tell you because he's loyal to the Navy. The road was not easy."

Even getting to the Navy wasn't easy for Grooms. His wife, Emily, explains how far her husband has traveled from his modest roots by recounting the story of his first day at the Academy. He left Cleveland, she says, with only a plane ticket, $20, and a plan to meet someone at the airport who would drive him to the Academy. But there was a mix-up and his ride didn't show up. So Grooms got into a taxi.

"The taxi driver took him as far as the $20 would go. And then he stopped the car and said, `Get out.' So he had to hitchhike the rest of the way into the Academy," she says. "That's not how most people get here. But he made it. And I think that is the key to him as a person."

Sub will be put to rest

KITTERY, Maine - The USS Salt Lake City, a Los Angeles Class submarine, made its last voyage under its own power Thursday up the Piscataqua River to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The highly decorated sub has been deactivated and will end its distinguished 21-year career here on the Seacoast.

The Salt Lake City was the 27th L.A.Class submarine built. It was commissioned in May 1984 at Norfolk, Va.

It is coming to the Portsmouth shipyard to undergo something the Navy terms "inactivation."

"An inactivation involves defueling (removing the sub’s nuclear fuel) and safe lay-up of the ship and ship systems," said Danna Eddy, of the shipyard’s public affairs office. "The ship will then be towed to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (in Washington state) for ship recycling."

The 127-member crew will stay with the sub initially, but "at the conclusion of the inactivation, the crew members will be reassigned elsewhere in the Navy," Eddy said.

The Salt Lake City is one of the most advanced undersea vessels of her type in the world. It measures 360 feet in length and 33 feet in width, and can reach depths of more than 400 feet. It has a top speed of more than 20 knots, a Portsmouth Naval Shipyard press release said.

The sub was awarded a Navy Unit Commendation for its first mission to the western Pacific in 1986, fighting the Cold War. Its operations in the Horn of Africa region during what is now known as the opening round of the war on terrorism in 1997, ended with an award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, according to a press release issued by the shipyard.

The Salt Lake City’s early deployment and operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom earned it a third Navy Unit Commendation, and its final mission in support of post-Iraq security concerns resulted in a second Meritorious Unit Commendation.

Before arriving at the Portsmouth shipyard, the sub ended its proud 21-year history by surfacing through the polar ice pack in the Arctic Ocean on Nov. 17. In doing so, it broke through more than a foot of ice near the North Pole.

The sub’s final commanding officer is Cmdr. Tracy L. Howard, a native of Tupelo, Miss., and a 1986 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. Sanford, Maine, will act as host community for Howard and the rest of the Salt Lake City crew until the vessel’s inactivation is complete.

Planted PR Stories Not News to Military

U.S. officials in Iraq knew that a contractor was paying local papers. Discretion was the key

WASHINGTON — U.S. military officials in Iraq were fully aware that a Pentagon contractor regularly paid Iraqi newspapers to publish positive stories about the war, and made it clear that none of the stories should be traced to the United States, according to several current and former employees of Lincoln Group, the Washington-based contractor.

In contrast to assertions by military officials in Baghdad and Washington, interviews and Lincoln Group documents show that the information campaign waged over the last year was designed to cloak any connection to the U.S. military.

"In clandestine parlance, Lincoln Group was a 'cutout' — a third party — that would provide the military with plausible deniability," said a former Lincoln Group employee who worked on the operation. “To attribute products to [the military] would defeat the entire purpose. Hence, no product by Lincoln Group ever said ‘Made in the U.S.A.’”

A number of workers who carried out Lincoln Group's offensive, including a $20-million two-month contract to influence public opinion in Iraq's restive Al Anbar province, describe a campaign that was unnecessarily costly, poorly run and largely ineffective at improving America's image in Iraq. The current and former employees spoke on condition of anonymity because of confidentiality restrictions.

"In my own estimation, this stuff has absolutely no effect, and it's a total waste of money," said another former employee, echoing the sentiments of several colleagues. "Every Iraqi can read right through it."

Disclosures that the military used a private firm to plant stories written by U.S. troops in Iraqi newspapers have drawn widespread criticism.

The Pentagon has ordered an investigation, led by Navy Rear Adm. Scott Van Buskirk. Army Gen. George W. Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said Friday that he expected a report from Van Buskirk "in a week or so." Casey said that a preliminary assessment made shortly after the military's information operations campaign was revealed in a Times article last month concluded that the Army was "operating within our authorities and the appropriate legal procedures."

Military officials initially distanced themselves from Lincoln Group's activities, suggesting the company may have violated its contract when it masked the origin of stories placed in the Iraqi press.

On Dec. 2, Pentagon officials told Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John W. Warner (R-Va.) that all of the published materials were supposed to be identified as originating with the U.S. military but that identification was occasionally omitted by accident.

But Lincoln Group documents obtained by The Times, along with interviews with military officials and the current and former Lincoln Group employees, show that those who worked on the campaign believed the media products would be far more credible if their origins were disguised.

Pentagon officials say Warner was given the most accurate information the Pentagon had at the time.

"Certainly, nobody was trying to deceive Sen. Warner," said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, who declined to comment further on the military's role in the information campaign.

With the insurgency in Iraq still strong more than two years after the American-led invasion, U.S. generals have come to believe that the battle for hearts and minds is as vital as the fight against insurgents. But of the handful of firms that have received tens of millions of Pentagon dollars to "level the information playing field," Lincoln Group would seem to be a curious case.

The company had had little public relations or communications experience when it won its first psychological operations contract last year. Yet it has become one of the biggest beneficiaries of the information war, and now has 20 Pentagon contracts, a company spokesman said.

With considerable swagger, Lincoln Group markets itself as a firm that can navigate the world's most hostile terrain. A statement on the company website says: "While others may view these locations as 'inhospitable,' we prefer to call them 'challenging.' " Documents obtained by The Times show that Lincoln Group is developing plans to expand its operations into Afghanistan under new Pentagon contracts.

Even in the face of a military investigation, congressional scrutiny and unwelcome media attention, Lincoln Group Executive Vice President Paige Craig wrote his staff in a recent e-mail that the company remained "on the offensive."

The Dec. 5 e-mail asserted that the company was "engaged in a morally just fight whose aim is to provide freedom to a fledgling nation."

Craig wrote: "The information war requires us to counter lies, media manipulation, perceptions, rumor and misquotes. It requires us to support the media in Iraq; it requires us to counter the propaganda of terrorism; it requires us to educate fathers not to enlist their sons to be suicide bombers."

Officials in Washington have long been frustrated by the U.S. government's efforts to explain its policies to a global audience.

While Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network deftly used Arabic media to create a worldwide movement, U.S. agencies fought turf battles over whether the CIA, Pentagon or State Department should take the lead in fighting an information war against Islamic extremists.

Sonalysts Awarded More Than $13M In Navy Contracts

The nearly $11 million contract will provide new employment opportunities for former submarine officers and technicians

Waterford - Sonalysts Inc. has received more than $13 million in U.S. Navy-related contracts, including an extensive contract to improve tactical warfare readiness for the nation's submarine force and boost computer-based training for the surface-ship forces.

The Waterford-based Sonalysts said it has been awarded a $10.8 million contract by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, R.I., for technical and analytical support to the submarine force so it can better assess and improve its tactical warfare readiness skills. The work will primarily be performed at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton as well as some secondary work at Sonalysts' Waterford campus.

Sonalysts has been involved with this Navy contract for warfare readiness since 1998 and will continue to be involved under the current contract through 2009.

Wil Cooke, a Sonalysts vice president, said the nearly $11 million contract will provide new employment opportunities for former submarine officers and technicians who have experience in submarine sonar, fire control and computer database management.

Sonalysts also said that its second Navy contract, for $2.25 million, would support the Fleet Antisubmarine Warfare Training Center in San Diego. The contract was awarded by the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Dahlgreen Division in Dahlgreen, Va.

The contract calls for the Waterford company to design and develop computer-based training materials that can train surface ship sonar technicians. The new program would be available to those technicians via “Navy Knowledge Online” portals that enable sailors to train in classrooms at the San Diego training center or anywhere they can access the training via their computers and the Internet.

The program converts existing traditional instructor-led training materials to a computer-learning based format. The program allows the sailors to progress at their individual pace.

For the past two years, Sonalysts has been involved in a similar conversion of instructor-led training to computer-based training at the Submarine Learning Center at the Groton submarine base.

Sonalysts vice president Jeffrey Lemmon said his firm was pleased to expand its computer-training services to the Navy.

He said the computer-based training materials for sailors “will help reduce training time and result in more efficient application of the Navy's resources.”

Volunteers Will Provide ‘Human Touch' At Sub Museum

Groton- Visitors to the Submarine Force Library & Museum in the coming year will notice a new “interactive” addition to its offerings that doesn't involve computers or special effects.

They're called docents, and they're human volunteers who will answer questions, offer tours and generally provide a “human touch” to the Groton museum, which is just outside the gates of the Naval Submarine Base.

The museum, which houses the Historic Ship Nautilus, the nation's first nuclear submarine, hopes to have its first roster of museum docents available during January and then plans to add to the ranks in the coming months so docent-related services can be expanded.

Michael G. Riegel, a retired Navy caption who serves as executive director of the submarine museum, said he's wanted to initiate such a program for some time, provided he could find enough committed volunteers to serve in the new role.

The museum has already found an initial core of docents who are getting training about the museum's various attractions and offerings, and he said that first round of docents would be available to greet visitors as they arrive and answer any questions they have.

“We definitely want this going within the first month of the new year,” Riegel said. “And then we'll grow it as we go.”

The volunteer docents would be stationed around the site to aid visitors as they navigate their way through the museum and library. They also would be expected to explain the various exhibits and to generally add some depth to the experience for visitors, Riegel said.

In addition, the museum has invited a high school teacher to join the museum's executive board and form a partnership with other educators in the local school systems to design educational opportunities in math, science and history - key attributes of those in the Silent Service.

The museum's goal is to make the site an attraction for area educators looking for field trips, providing both education and entertainment experiences for students from kindergarten through high school.

Riegel said the submarine museum's busiest time is during the summer, and by then he hopes to have experienced volunteer docents who could offer guided tours to various groups visiting the museum and library.

Riegel said those interested in volunteering for the new docent program at the submarine library and museum should call him at 860-448-0893. No experience is necessary, he said.

“We want to enhance the experience that people have when they come to this museum,” Riegel said. “The whole idea is to make them feel a bit more welcome, and make them want to come back - and tell their friends about it,” Riegel said.

UK Submarine crew returns home to base

The crew of attack submarine HMS Spartan have arrived back on land in time to spend Christmas with their loved ones.

The 116-strong crew returned to the HM Naval Base Clyde following a five-month global deployment.

The 5,000-tonne vessel berthed at Gare Loch and the groups were reunited at the base's jetty.

Since sailing from Scotland in mid-July, HMS Spartan has been deployed to the south Atlantic and also conducted patrols in the Gulf.

2006 Joint Undersea Warfare Technology Spring Conference

March 27-30, 2006
Admiral Kidd Conference Center
San Diego, CA
Event #6260

There's still time to submit an abstract for the
Joint Undersea Warfare Spring Conference -
the deadline is now January 13, 2006!

Link to a PDF copy of the call for papers to view submittal instructions.

This is an invitation to you or someone in your organization to submit an abstract to be considered for the Technical Sessions of the 2006 Joint Undersea Warfare Technology Spring Conference. The deadline for submitting astracts has been extended to January 13, 2006 .

This year's theme is

Pacing the Threat - Getting the Strategy Right for the 21st Century

Papers should relate to the conference theme and apply to one of the five topic areas listed below.

Aviation USW and Distributed Sensors
C4I & Combat Systems
Mine Warfare
Undersea Sensors
Undersea Vehicles

Registration
Registration will open shortly. Please bookmark the conference webpage to check for updates.

Security
This conference is classified Secret - U.S. Only. All participants must be U.S. Citizens and hold a secret or higher clearance. A security certification form will be posted on our website when registration opens.

Questions
If you have questions or need more information, please contact kwilliams@ndia.org.

If you have problems viewing the documents on our website, you may need to update your Adobe Reader - please visit Adobe's website at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html to download the latest version for free.

Kimberly Williams, Meeting Planner
National Defense Industrial Association
2111 Wilson Blvd., Suite 400
Arlington, VA 22201
http://www.ndia.org

This email is sent in compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 and has been sent to you as a member or customer of the National Defense Industrial Association (http://www.ndia.org) and its affiliates AFEI, NCWG, NTSA, PSA, and WID. Please be advised that NDIA and its affiliates do not sell mailing lists or provide customer information to other organizations. Your E-mail address is used to maintain member and customer contact and provide notification of new activities. To "opt-out" from receiving future messages of the type you have received, please send a message to remove@ndia.org. Your email address will be removed from our database within 10 business days.
National Defense Industrial Association, 2111 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 400, Arlington, VA 22201

To ensure that you receive all valuable and informative email communications from NDIA, please add Newsletter@NDIA.ORG to your list of trusted senders (called the White-List).