I thought you might like to see big Navy's current thoughts on the IUSS - our history and todays operations.
- Jim
IUSS 65th Anniversary Keynote Address – 21 September 2019
Vice Admiral Chas Richard, U.S. Navy
Introduction and Special Recognition
• Fellow Admirals, Commodores, Commanding Officers, families, friends, international partners, active and past operators of the US Navy’s best secret – what an amazing gathering of so many who have contributed so greatly to the defense of our nation and our allies!
• It is an honor to be with you tonight, as we celebrate the 65th anniversary of this incredible jewel we know as IUSS. I know, I know – the IUSS mission was declassified decades ago, but whether you’re operating the system now, or operated it 65 years ago like Mr. Ed Smock… let me digress a second. 65 years! Mr. Smock, I understand you have three children who have recently retired from successful careers? Yet you continue to work on in the system you love. That dedication is simply beyond words. You truly are the institutional knowledge we so badly need throughout our Navy. Let’s give him a round of applause…
• But you and I all know that this very exclusive and covert society you are a part of remains little known to the American public. If only that were more true for our adversaries as well!
• You know, I’ll tell ya, following the Cold War, the IUSS community and system as a whole was in flux – experiencing a significant reduction in focus and resources. But I am here to tell you, and Admiral Converse and Commodore Luers can attest to this, as our nation returns to Great Power Competition, now with two potential adversaries instead of one, IUSS and its value are absolutely well known to our nation’s top defense officials, your system is very much in the spotlight and on the ascendancy. But I get ahead of myself – let me reflect for a minute on the remarkable history which has brought IUSS to where it is today.
IUSS History and Importance
• In 1954, the same year Ed Smock graduated from sonar school and reported to IUSS, Naval Facility Ramey was commissioned under a program then classified as Project CAESAR.
• The entire concept of the Sound Surveillance System, or SOSUS, was audacious – working to exploit low frequency sound waves that travel long distances in the ocean in order to track the growing Soviet ballistic missile submarine threat. It was also highly secretive – Sailors thought they were reporting to oceanographic research stations to learn about whales and conduct ocean floor surveys.
• As the Father of SOSUS, CAPT Joseph Kelly, shepherded the system along, NAVFAC Ramey was joined by more acoustic processing facilities worldwide. Many of you in this room operated in these geographically dispersed places, like Keflavik, Iceland; Argentia, Canada; Guam; Brawdy, United Kingdom; and Adak, Alaska, just to name a few.
• You contributed to the Fleet’s anti-submarine prosecutions during the Cuban Missile Crisis, helped pinpoint USS THRESHER when that ship experienced catastrophic problems and perished on the ocean floor, as well as several Soviet submarines when they experienced similar fates, but, most importantly, you tracked numerous Soviet submarines on an almost daily basis, giving national leadership the confidence that we could locate and sink those dangerous units in time of hostilities. Your contributions played a significant role in our Nation’s triumph in the Cold War, something for which you have never been given enough credit.
• In the 1980s you added a fleet of Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System (SURTASS) ships to your arsenal. These assets provided a mobile capability to fill gaps where no fixed systems existed, and soon proved so invaluable that additional ships were added until they peaked at 14 operational SURTASS in the U.S. Navy.
• At all points you were innovative, working with the acquisition community to develop and field new technology, better sensors, improved processing equipment, and smoother communications gear so you could make faster and more accurate reports to Fleet commanders.
• Many of you started in this business by “walking the beams” – literally standing watch by walking down rows of graphite scrolling displays, resembling paper EKGs, with each piece of equipment accounting for one beam of the array. We eventually progressed to scrolling those beams at a computer terminal; but the acoustic analysis art you perfected – and it is still an art – remains the foundation of the excellent performance that we expect from IUSS.
The Future is Bright
• Today, that innovation continues. As I previously mentioned, senior leadership in our Navy and our defense department recognize the crucial importance of wide area maritime surveillance as the first step in the undersea kill-chain. As a result, we are seeing significant investment IUSS, something that has been unmatched since prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall. My own Submarine Force Commander’s Intent, as well as other Pentagon resource documents clearly identify that expanding IUSS is one of our top priorities.
• The acquisition community is continuously working on a whole host of new technology. They recently perfected the most advanced man-made acoustic sensor ever fielded, and that sensor has been incorporated into our first new fixed systems in this century.
• As these new systems provide us a larger quantity of data – i.e., making a larger haystack, so to speak – we are simultaneously working on artificial intelligence to create machine filters so that our analysts have a greater chance of finding the needle – allowing them to apply their acoustic expertise to finding submarines and not tracking biologics or surface merchants.
• We are also standing up a deployable family of sensors as a full program of record in this next fiscal year – taking some of the great prototype work which has been done to expand the IUSS toolkit with a series of expeditionary passive, active, and mobile sensors.
• As we speak, we are experimenting operationally with an expeditionary SURTASS concept by which we take a twin line passive array similar to what is deployed in our SURTASS Fleet, and place it on a contracted vessel of opportunity.
• Frankly speaking, we simply have not had the quantity of SURTASS ships we would like to cover all the gaps we need. SURTASS-E, as it is called, should add capability and alleviate that quantitative shortfall while we work to build the next version of SURTASS ships in the late 2020s.
• In addition to SURTASS, we are working to network the ocean floor, taking advantage of our IUSS infrastructure by adding active capability, nodes to charge and communicate with a fleet of unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs), and improve communication with all undersea assets. The future of IUSS is bright, and I am excited for, and look forward to seeing the progress we make as we reinvest in this crucial system.
Importance of Our People
• But regardless of any technology we bring to bear, or the amount of money we invest in new systems, our people remain the backbone of our IUSS capability.
• Since 1954 you have stood the watch, seeing us through the many long decades of the Cold War. Now, as we face our this era of Great Power Competition, we are grateful for the leadership of the people in this room – Mr. Ed Smock, former IUSS Commodores and Commanding Officers, CAPT Kelly award winners, our international partners, and all who have walked the beams – either literally or figuratively.
• That leadership has produced today’s IUSS masters of the undersea domain – a talented mix of young Sailors through senior civilian warriors who recognize their vital role in improving the lethality of our anti-submarine forces by leveraging their acoustic expertise and vigilance.
• As I prepared for tonight’s event, I was impressed to see how many women have been a vital part of the IUSS leadership team. Long before women were significantly integrated into our Navy, they were taking commanding roles within the IUSS community. Women like Norah Taylor-Brown, the first woman in an IUSS operational billet at NACFAC Eleuthera in 1970.
• LCDR Peggy Frederick, who became the first female Commanding Officer of a NAVFAC when she took command in Lewes, Delaware in 1977.
• CAPT Marnee Finch, who was the first female IUSS Commodore when she relieved as Commander, Undersea Surveillance, Pacific, in 1993, back when we had two Commodores, one on each coast.
• In an unprecedented first for both IUSS and the U.S. Navy, then CDR Kathy Donovan relieved her husband, then CDR Jim Donovan, as Commanding Officer of Naval Ocean Processing Facility Dam Neck in 2001.
• Tonight I’d also like to recognize the first Intelligence Officer to command a NOPF, CAPT Charleese Hasan, who currently serves as the Commanding Officer at NOPF Dam Neck.
• Thank you to CAPT Hasan and all of our IUSS leaders for your dedication to providing “continuous maritime surveillance for homeland security 24/7/365.”
• The women and men of the IUSS community share in a proud heritage of undersea expertise. When I relieved as the Submarine Force Commander last year, I told our team to Prepare for Battle. Our Navy must be ready for combat today. When the shooting starts, no one gets a few more years, months, or even days to prepare. We fight with what we have. That includes our level of training and expertise.
• So, my challenge to those of you operating the system today is to prepare well, as our time may be short. Work to ensure that your systems and your people are at the highest levels of preparedness possible. Think creatively, as you always have, and work to optimize new technology as it comes to you. Take pride in the global excellence for which IUSS is renowned, but be on guard for any slips from that high standard.
• I am confident we will prevail in any conflict, but the sacrifice which the American people and military are forced to make will be inverse to the quality of the preparations we make today.
Closing
• Let me close by saying that I am extremely proud of the IUSS community. Thank you for your hard work, dedication and support of your shipmates.
• I’d like to extend a special thank you to CAPT Jim Donovan and the rest of the unsung heroes of the anniversary committee for putting together such a splendid event. The IUSS heritage that is represented by the people in this room is simply remarkable.
• You do yourselves and your nation a service by conducting these events and keeping alive such a unique community and camaraderie. Thank you for the opportunity to join you tonight, and my best wishes for the continued success of the CAESAR Association.
• You are truly Masters of the Undersea Domain! God bless the Submarine Force, all Undersea Warriors, and the United States. Thank you – good night.
I thought this was an EXCELLENT address. Proud to have served.
I agree, Jim. I thought the Admiral delivered his speech well and that it captured the history, legacy and importance of "The System" and our people. He also quite effectively tied our storied past to today's expanded IUSS missions. Great speech. I too am proud to have served in the IUSS when I did.
I was good to see you and Deb at the reunion.
You all too.