Military

Submarine Squadron 15

During the Cold War Submarine Squadron 15 was stationed at its forward base at Agana, Guam, Marianas Islands, operating Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarines. Commander, Submarine Squadron 15, with 7 officers and 13 enlisted personnel, relocated to Guam effective July 1, 2000. During the period of 1986-87, five U.S. Navy supply vessels were homeported on Guam with a combined personnel force totaling nearly 2,000 sailors and officers. After recent military downsizing, the only Navy vessel homeported on Guam is the USS Frank Cable with a crew of 400.

An 07 March 2000 memorandum from the Navy Department's Office of Legislative Affairs states, "please be advised that the Navy is establishing Commander, Submarine Squadron 15 (COMSUBRON FIFTEEN), Guam. This action will be effective July 1, 2000." The recommendation to locate the sub command in Guam was made by CINCPAC (Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet) and then sent up the chain of command in the Pentagon. Establishing COMSUBRON 15 will improve the operational readiness of the Pacific submarine force and WESTPAC deployed submarines by exercising administrative and operation control over operations functions, logistics support, material readiness, shipboard training, and personnel. COMSUBRON 15 will number seven officers and 13 enlisted personnel whose estimated combined total salaries amount to more than $1.1 million annually.

The Navy has considered homeporting three to five attack submarines in Guam so the boats can spend more time on station in the western Pacific. Transit times from Hawaii and the West Coast substantially impact the availability of subs deploying along the Pacific rim. Creation of a homeport in Guam might not happen prior to around 2005, since the Navy would have to create an infrastructure to care for the ships, an additional 650 to 700 sailors and their families.

In January 2001 the Navy proposed homeporting up to three fast-attack submarines on the Pacific island of Guam to get the ships closer to their operating area. The first of the Pacific Fleet subs would reach their new base sometime in 2002, though the Navy had not decided which subs will move to Guam.

The USS Salt Lake City arrived in Guam before Oct. 8, 2002.