The state’s namesake nuclear submarine, USS New Mexico, has been playing cat-and-mouse with the Royal Navy’s newest fast-attack sub in the Atlantic in a joint exercise designed to give crews of both boats real-world training.
The New Mexico, a Virginia-class sub commissioned in 1983, is among the Navy’s newest fast-attack submarines. During the Fellowship 2012 exercise last month, its crew tried to out-maneuver and outwit the seamen aboard the British Royal Navy’s HMS Astute.
“This is a great opportunity for the crew, for the Virginia-class program, the U.S. Navy, and submarine force to have this opportunity to take this boat out against what we in the submarine community consider is the best competition out there,” said USS New Mexico’s Commanding Officer Cmdr. George Perez. “The crew has enjoyed every minute of it.”
Perez said he hopes to do more exercises like Fellowship because it allows crews on both boats to perform real-time tracking and deterrence and attack scenarios that cannot be replicated to the same level of authenticity by other forms of training.
Parts of the exercise were observed by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert and First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff of the Royal Navy, Adm. Sir Mark Stanhope, both of whom started their military careers in the submarine community.
Ensign Steven Connell, who served as a junior officer of the watch aboard New Mexico during the exercise, said the training provided him and his shipmates with a better appreciation of what they and their submarine can do.
“It let us see our capabilities versus their capabilities, and it’s a very close match between the two countries,” Connell said.
— This article appeared on page C2 of the Albuquerque Journal
