Post by John Butler CBE

In April 2003, I (PEO Submarines) accompanied ADM Skip Bowman (Naval Reactors) and U.S. Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, to the Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS), a drifting ice floe which served as a temporary research, tracking, and logistics hub in the Arctic Ocean. We stopped in Deadhorse, Alaska (Prudhoe Bay) and were outfitted with appropriate Arctic clothing. We then flew on to APLIS to visit the Ice Camp and board the Seawolf Class nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN-22). The visit took place during the U.S. Navy's ICEX (Ice Exercise) 2003, an operational deployment where the submarine operated under the polar ice cap to conduct research and military training. As a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Bartlett traveled to the Arctic to observe cold-weather submarine operations, assess the Navy's under-ice capabilities, and witness scientific research initiatives during the International Polar Year preparations. As a prominent advocate for naval power, Bartlett used this onboard experience to witness Arctic submarine operations firsthand, directly shaping his ongoing congressional support and budgetary oversight for the expansion and modernization of the Navy's submarine fleet. Congressman Bartlett was impressed as we submerged beneath the ice and conducted operations under ice. He was even more impressed the next day when we surfaced through the ice. (During this ICEX deployment, the USS Connecticut famously made headlines when a curious polar bear approached and inspected the submarine after it surfaced through the ice.) Congressman Bartlett and I first met in the 2001-time frame when I was Commander Naval Undersea Warfare Center and made the decision to close one of my facilities located on Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. His constituent, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU-APL) disagreed with my decision, so Congressman Bartlett called a meeting in his office between JHU-APL and me (COMNUWC). After explaining the technical basis for my decision, Congressman Bartlett agreed and I closed the facility. Later in June 2005, the House Armed Services Committee held a Field Hearing at Naval Submarine Base New London concerning BRAC. Witnesses for the hearing were ADM Kirk Donald (Naval Reactors), VADM Chuck Munns (COMSUBLANT) and me (PEO Submarines). Congressman Bartlett was one of the senior members present along with several others. We made the case that a BRAC closure of Submarine Base New London was not in the best interest of the Navy and the proximity to Electric Boat had many benefits, which were detailed. We prevailed and Submarine Base New London was removed from the BRAC list.