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| Virginia class attack submarine |
By Franz-Stefan Gady
Rear Admiral Frederick J. Roegge takes over during a testing time in the region.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet submarine force has a new commander who will be confronted by a myriad of threats and challenges including Chinese assertiveness in the East and South China Sea, ongoing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and an increase in Russian naval activities in the Pacific, according to Admiral Cecil B. Haney, commander, U.S. Strategic Command and guest speaker during a ceremony at the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor, according to the U.S. Pacific Fleet website.
Haney spoke on the occasion of a change of command during which Rear Admiral Phillip G. Sawyer turned over command of the Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC) to Rear Admiral Frederick J. Roegge. Sawyer had assumed command in August 2013 and oversaw day-to-day operations of 60 percent of the U.S. Navy’s entire submarine fleet. The U.S. Navy’s submarine fleet in the Pacific specifically acts as Task Force 134 for strategic deterrent submarine operations as well as Task Force 34 for theater anti-submarine warfare. The subs are also used for intelligence gathering activities.
During his speech, Admiral Haney, a former submarine commander himself, sketched out the challenging new regional environment for the new commander. “For example, we see China’s efforts to assert regional dominance in the East and South China Seas while at the same time they’re operating a new ballistic missile submarine force, modernizing its mobile and fixed intercontinental ballistic missiles and conducting persistent cyber activities and counter space demonstrations,” he noted.
Read the full story at The Diplomat