An increasingly important area where reservists are playing visible roles is with environmental training and awareness. In several cases, proactive Naval Reserve submariners are providing their gaining commands critical environmental expertise that they bring from the private sector. Reservists provided a wealth of legislative affairs and environmental background that help develop the navy's environmental impact statement required for the homeporting plans for the new Seawolf fast attack submarines. Reserve submariners will play and even greater environmental support role in the future as more reserved environmental billets are being established to support the growing requirements of the Navy's submarine force. With fast attack nuclear submarines now playing an integral role in carrier battle groups, amphibious readiness group, and multinational NATO task forces, having submarine qualified officers and enlisted to adviser and support battle group commanders is a necessity.
Submarines offer the battle group commander tremendous versatility.
They can be employed to perform ASW, strike, intelligence and special warfare missions. A SAT team's job is to advise the senior afloat commanders on the capabilities and limitations of the submarine, we also provide the command and control expertise they need to plan and execute much more sophisticated exercises. Without embarked SAT teams, fleet commanders cannot assume operational control of the submarine. The reserve Battle Group Staff has become a premier program within the submarine Reserve Program. To operate a submarine close-in with surface task forces requires people with a unique blend of navigation and communication skills.