Undersea warfare development center opens in New London

Vice Adm. Joseph E. Tofalo, COMSUBFOR Blog
2 October 2015

I recently had the pleasure of participating in the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Undersea Warfighting Development Center (UWDC) at Sub Base New London, CT. Many of our great undersea warriors learned their craft on this base, including Vice Admiral Elton Grenfell, after whom the building that will house the UWDC headquarters is named. He had his first instruction in submarines in New London in 1928. Admiral Grenfell knew something about being first, as he went on to command U.S.S. GUDGEON - the first submarine to go on war patrol in World War II, and the first submarine to sink an enemy warship in that conflict.
Our undersea forces are familiar with being first: often first on scene preparing the battlespace well in advance of the Joint force, and consequently first to the fight and to come to grips with the enemy. The new UWDC will ensure all of our undersea forces stay poised to do just that. To assist with this, the Navy has brought together world class experts from the former Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command, Submarine Development Squadron FIVE, Submarine Development Squadron TWELVE, and the Arctic Submarine Laboratory.
To be clear, the UWDC will support the entire Navy, not just the submarine force, in advancing Undersea Warfare (USW) - from Carrier Battle Groups to individual surface ship deployers, and from the arctic to the littorals where an SSN operates far forward. UWDC will enable the Undersea Dominance Campaign Plan in order to bring decisive effects from or in the undersea domain, when and where the operational commander directs. An easy way to remember their mission is with the acronym, D.A.T.A.
. "D": Develop doctrine, CONOPS, and tactics for Undersea Warfare.
. "A": Assess USW performance and warfighting readiness.
. "T": Training for undersea platforms and integrated fleet operations.
. "A": Advance undersea capability, wholeness and synchronization.
This is crucial work and we have gathered the right team do it. My congratulations and compliments to all throughout the Navy who have contributed so much to making our undersea forces unmatched in the world today. I am confident that going forward the new UWDC will make ever greater USW contributions to our Navy and our nation.
Thank you for all you do - keep charging!
Vice Admiral Joseph E. Tofalo is Commander, Submarine Forces/Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic/Commander, Allied Submarine Command.