Submarine force Arctic exercises planned for 2014

The U.S. Navy’s submarine force is preparing for its next Arctic exercises in spring 2014, but there is some uncertainty over whether they will take place due to budget pressures in Washington, a Connecticut-based admiral said Tuesday.

Rear Adm. Kenneth Perry, commander of all U.S. attack submarines based on the East Coast, said in an interview that the exercises offer vital training in a strategically important area with harsh, frigid conditions that present challenges unlike any other ocean.

Perry said an attack submarine in Groton is being readied to participate in the exercises, but they could be jeopardized by military spending cuts brought about by budget crises in Washington. The last Ice Exercise was held in March 2011.

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