SERVING ROYAL Navy submariners,
veterans, families and support
workers gathered to mark 50
years of the Continuous At Sea
Deterrent (CASD) at Her Majesty’s
Naval Base Clyde on July 5. Since
1969 at least one Royal Navy
ballistic missile submarine hasNaval Base Marks Key Role in
50 Years of Nuclear Deterrence
Her Royal Highness Princess Anne being welcomed to the base on July 5.10 http://www.britainatwar.comBRIEFING ROOM^ |^ News^ •^ Restoration^ •^ Discoveries • Events • Exhibitions from around the UK
been at sea on patrol, providing
the UK’s continuous nuclear
deterrent. During that entire time
the submarines and their crews
have operated from and been
supported by HM Naval Base
Clyde (Faslane) in Argyll and
Bute, Scotland.In recognition of that huge
endeavour over the last five
decades, and Clyde’s key role
in delivering it, the naval base
hosted a military parade, in front
of Princess Royal, the First Sea
Lord Admiral Anthony Radakin
and Second Sea Lord Vice
Admiral Nicholas Hine, along
with around 700 veterans and
visitors.
Jim McMaster, Polaris boat
veteran and chairman of the
Submariners’ Association,
said he was delighted that the
commitment and sacrifices
made by families for the past
50 years was at the heart of
events marking the deterrence
mission. “The toughest job in
the Royal Navy is a submariner’s
wife or partner,” he said. “When
they go away, there’s no knowing
where they are or even if they
are alive. In the surface fleet,
you know your loved ones are
safe and well. I cannot imaginehow difficult it must have been for
my wife during my 34 years, not
knowing what we were doing.
“I missed so much of my
daughter’s childhood – there are so
many ‘blanks’ in our lives. But we
just did our jobs and got on with
things. It’s the support behind us
that allowed us to do that – the
navy was very good at looking after
us and the Submarine Service
is a very close-knit community. If
you served in the Royal Navy over
the past 50 years, then you have
supported us somehow.”
Beginning with the Resolution
class submarines in 1969, and
transferring to the Vanguard class
in the 1990s, the mission has
seen a deterrent submarine at
sea continuously during this entire
time. The mission will be continued
into the future by the Dreadnought
class of ballistic submarines, which
will also be ported at Clyde and is
expected to be operational within
the next decade. ∎The parade to mark 50 years of the submarine continuous at sea deterrent at HM Naval Base Clyde was attended by HRH Princess Anne, the First Sea Lord Admiral Radakin and
Second Sea Lord Vice Admiral Hine on July 5. (ALL IMAGES CROWN COPYRIGHT 2019)