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From: gordon@meaddata.com (Gordon Edwards)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: SSN's in the Gulf?
Message-ID: <1991Jan19.040034.4025@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 19 Jan 91 04:00:34 GMT
References: <1991Jan18.004731.9410@cbnews.att.com>
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From: gordon@meaddata.com (Gordon Edwards)


In article <1991Jan18.004731.9410@cbnews.att.com>,
smithw@hamblin.math.byu.edu (Dr. William V. Smith) writes:
|> 
|> 
|> From: smithw@hamblin.math.byu.edu (Dr. William V. Smith)
|> (for sci.military)
|> Is there any word (speculation, rumor) about the deployment of
|> U.S. SSN's in the Persian Gulf.  What is SOP for a task force
|> in this tactical situation?
|> -Bill

While it is normally accepted that an SSN or two would accompany a CBG, I 
doubt that any are in the Gulf in that capacity.  First, the Iraqi's do not
have enough of a navy to justify the SSNs presence and my guess is the Gulf
is too shallow to ensure the sub's safety.  The only purpose for their 
presence would be as a (covert?) cruise missle platform (the LA class normally
carries 12 missles).  We don't really need a covert launch platform since
the Iraqi's probably can't do anything about our overt platforms.  So that
leaves us with just a cruise missle platform (i.e. if SSNs are in the Gulf,
we needed to launch a hell-of-alot more missles that could be carried by
our surface ships.

This is only a guess.

-- Gordon     (gordon@meaddata.com)