The Navy's top submarine commander completed a visit to Naval Submarine Base New London Jan. 28.

Vice Adm. Joseph E. Tofalo, Commander, Submarine Forces, held three all-hands calls to discuss his recently released "Commander's Intent for the Submarine Force and Supporting Organizations" with students, staff at the Naval Submarine School, senior submarine leadership and supporting staff in the Groton submarine community.

The Commander's Intent focuses on four prioritized Lines of Effort: (1) provide ready forces, (2) employ the force effectively, (3) develop future capability, and (4) empower our people, the foundation of our strength.

Tofalo held one all-hands call with Naval Submarine School students and staff, one with major commanders, commanding officers and their senior staff, and one with department heads and below. The Navy's top submarine boss tailored each message to the specific audience.

Tofalo told Naval Submarine School students and staff, "It is a fundamentally different world, even in the time since you entered high school five years ago. Over the last 10-15 years our Navy has primarily focused on power projection ashore from the uncontested water near foreign shores. In the next 10-15 years our emphasis must instead be on high-end combat in contested open oceans."

Tofalo pointed to Russia's military resurgence on the world stage and China's increased naval maritime capacity and technological sophistication as they attempt to assert dominance over the South China Sea region. These two international powers are attempting to bridge the technology gap with the U.S. Navy's submarine force.

Tofalo stressed the importance of the submarine force to the students, "You are a very small, highly leveraged, and elite force. We invest significantly in your training and readiness, so that you are the best."

Tofalo addressed the importance of personnel, material and operational readiness of the submarine force, specifically highlighting Groton's long legacy in delivering combat ready submarines.

"Generating submarine readiness is what you do here. On average, every six weeks Groton pumps out another SSN to go on deployment," said Tofalo. "That's tough work, that's generating readiness and we've got to continue this vital work for the country."

Tofalo stressed the importance of independent operations and preparing for high-end combat when he told the commanding officers, "You are out there operating alone and unafraid, operating far forward -- sometimes intentionally without routine communications. You have that command pin on your chest because you have to make tough decisions. I expect you to exercise the full extent of the authority vested in you."

While Tofalo had specific messages for each audience, many themes were universal.

"We are a maritime nation," he said. "Approximately 70 percent of the world is covered in water, 80 percent of the population lives within a few hundred miles of an ocean coast, 90 percent of all global commerce travels not by plane, but by ship, and over 95 percent of intercontinental communications (including financial transactions) travel not by satellite, but via an underwater cable. Our Founding Fathers saw the importance of the maritime domain, stating in the Constitution that the Congress had the power "to raise and support armies" ... but requiring it, "to provide and maintain a Navy."

The Submarine Force Commander stressed the consistent, high return on investment submarines provide.

"In World War II, about two percent of the Navy manpower was submariners, yet they were responsible for sinking about 55 percent of enemy shipping," said Tofalo.

He noted that today "submarine officers comprise only 7 percent of the Navy's officer corps and the submarine force accounts for only about 13 percent of the Navy's budget, yet we operate about 25 percent of the warships including over 50 percent of our nation's strategic deterrence. That's high return on investment."

Tofalo told all three groups our adversaries are increasing their Anti-Access, Area Denial (A2-AD) capabilities to thwart U.S. power projection efforts. He then described how the submarine force is uniquely capable of countering those efforts.

"The U.S. submarine force is the nation's anti-A2-AD force," he said. "We can get in underneath that A2-AD bubble, on scene, unseen, ready to open the door that enables the rest of the joint force."

Tofalo also focused on continued improvement and not falling into the trap of past accomplishments, "You're either getting better or you're getting worse, you're never standing still."

For more information regarding the Commander's Intent for the Submarine Force and Supporting Organizations, please visit the SUBLANT website at http://www.public.navy.mil/subfor/hq/Documents/Commander's%20Intent%20DEC%202015.pdf

For more news from Commander, Submarine Force, Atlantic, visit www.navy.mil/.