NORFOLK, Va.— Submarine Group Two hosted undersea warfare operators and planners from across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in Norfolk for the semi-annual Theater Undersea Warfare (TUSW) Symposium to synchronize capabilities, refine tactics, and deepen Allied integration across the Atlantic, Aug. 25-27, 2026.
Recognizing the symposium as a critical alignment forum, subject matter experts from aviation, surface, undersea, intelligence, and meteorology communities flew in from around the globe to refresh core concepts and sharpen multi-domain warfighting readiness.
Royal Canadian Navy Rear Adm. D.E. Mazur, vice commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet, delivered the opening remarks, underscoring the growing complexity of the maritime environment and the necessity of combined operations.
"It’s a combination of sub, surface, rotary and fixed wing, and surface arrays, all working together," Mazur said, regarding the collaborative nature of the domain. "Anti-submarine warfare is necessarily a team sport."
Mazur emphasized that as adversaries collaborate, share technology, and expand submarine proliferation, Allied integration must go beyond basic coordination.
"Our ability to work together as individual nations is important, but our collaboration of platforms is crucial," Mazur said.
For operational planners, the symposium provides a rare and essential venue to establish shared baselines, deconflict procedures, and eliminate friction before forces deploy forward into theater.
"When we go out to execute in an exercise or, more importantly, an operation, if we have not established a baseline together, we are starting off at a disadvantage," said Cmdr. David Setyon, a future operations planner and the symposium’s emcee. "Wasting valuable time to get on the same page with references and procedures puts us at a disadvantage. The symposium's pre-coordination is invaluable."
Setyon noted that true interoperability in the undersea fight depends on clear mission command and rapid tactical execution.
"When we go to sea, many assets will be working directly for the Theater Undersea Warfare Commander," Setyon said. "We need to seamlessly integrate, align tactics, and close the “kill chain” together.”
Capt. Bill Howey, Director of Maritime Operations for the Theater Undersea Warfare Commander, reinforced the strategic importance of transatlantic alignment.
"It’s important for us to understand how our partners on the other side of the ocean operate," Howey said. "All of our partners bring great assets and great capability to the team."
The alignment achieved during the symposium will help shape global TUSWC support teams, ensuring continuous 24/7/365 command-and-control support across multiple operating areas.