Submarines and the GWOT

A lot of people may wonder what submarines can do to help fight and win the Global War on Terror. Rear Admiral Mark Kenny, Commander Submarine Group TWO, talked about this very topic in a speech to the Groton chapter of the Naval Submarine League, as reported in The New London Day (read it quick before you have to pay for it!). [Update 1424 20 June: A longer-lasting version of the article is found at the top of this Rontini post.] Excerpts:

"Kenny said that while he couldn't go into detail, between one-quarter and one-third of the operating days submarines spend at sea are spent on such tasks as gathering intelligence and working with Special Forces, directly supporting the war on terror...
"...Previously, most of the missions for East Coast submarines were in the North Atlantic — meaning intelligence missions aimed at the former Soviet Union — or in the Mediterranean.
"But for more than a year, most of the Atlantic force has been covering missions in the Middle East, and last year two submarines, the Groton-based USS Alexandria and the Norfolk, Va.-based USS Oklahoma City, deployed over the North Pole to conduct classified missions in the Far East.
"Two more Atlantic-based submarines will deploy to the Pacific this year, Kenny said, leading to a brisk operational tempo."

There are any number of missions that submarines can do to support intelligence gathering in a world-wide war against an enemy looking for any way to strike back at the U.S. For instance, there's... well, can't talk about that. Also, there's... nope, can't talk about that either. And let's not forget... actually, forget I said anything. You'll just have to take RADM Kenny's word for it.

I know I do...