U.S. 2nd Fleet Holds Second Annual Theater Undersea Warfare Symposium
03 February 2023
NORFOLK, Va. -- U.S. 2nd Fleet hosted the second annual Theater Undersea Warfare Symposium at Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads, Jan. 31, 2023.
The symposium was designed to provide clear commander’s intent, synchronize operational perspectives and expectations, and establish requirements for command and control to present a ready and credible force in response to adversary operations in Atlantic maritime avenues of approach.
Vice Adm. Daniel Dwyer, commander of U.S. 2nd Fleet, opened the symposium by discussing the battle space in the Atlantic Ocean and the importance of collaboration across platforms.
“We are seeing a reemergence of persistent, proximate threats in the Atlantic, and this is a critical challenge to our Nation’s homeland defense mission,” Dwyer said. “We must remember that the Atlantic is no longer a sanctuary. We must leverage the collective expertise to innovate and find new solutions together. Integrated undersea warfare is pivotal to maintaining our superior lethality in the Atlantic during peace and wartime.”
He discussed that while the United States recognizes the right of nations to exercise freedom of navigation around the world, the U.S. Navy and in particular U.S. 2nd Fleet, must remain vigilant for competitor actions, which may be unpredictable and complex.
Dwyer continued by stating the importance of integrating air, surface, submarine, and other underwater capabilities in the next generation of undersea warfare and encouraged robust engagement among subject matter experts.
“This symposium is invaluable because it empowers collaboration between the U.S. and our Allies and partners to address the most vexing issues as a team,” Dwyer said. “This robust network is unmatched against our adversaries, and we should take every opportunity to grow stronger by working together.”
Following the symposium, Rear Adm. Brian Davies, commander of Submarine Group 2 and deputy commander of U.S. 2nd Fleet, visited the Submarine Learning Facility to view the training first-hand as the Theater Undersea Warfare Commander for the exercise.
“The team held a fleet synthetic training event involving our undersea warfare assets to prepare maritime warfighters for combat and peacetime operations,” Davies said. “We worked through an anti-submarine warfare scenario to test our future warfighter’s ability to influence events in the maritime domain and improve our proficiency and tactical readiness as a fleet.”
The FST puts planning and best practices into effect during a digitally simulated command, control and communication exercise between surface ships, submarines, aircraft and undersea surveillance assets to integrate all systems in a coordinated homeland defense strategy in the Atlantic Ocean.
“Exercises like this are important now more than ever,” Davies said. “By successfully conducting this type of large-scale coordinated exercise with state-of-the-art technology, we can ensure we have continued maritime and theatre dominance in the Atlantic Ocean.”
U.S. 2nd Fleet, reestablished in 2018 in response to the changing global security environment, employs maritime forces ready to fight across multiple domains in the Atlantic and Arctic in order to ensure access, deter aggression and defend U.S., allied, and partner interests.
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