WASHINGTON — An annual inside-the-beltway conference, dedicated to the US Navy’s submarine fleet and known for attracting top service brass every year, has been canceled due to the ongoing government shutdown, the event’s organizers announced today.
“Due to the federal budget issues and resultant government shutdown, many of the key speakers who are either active-duty military personnel or civilian government employees are unable to attend the in-person Annual Symposium & Industry Update (ASIU) which was scheduled for November 12 and 13 in Arlington, VA,” according to an email from the Naval Submarine League. “Accordingly, the Naval Submarine League Executive Committee has determined it is in the best interests of our partners to CANCEL the ASIU scheduled for these dates.”
The message goes on to say the group is evaluating the possibility of holding its event later this year, but its decision will be contingent upon the government reopening and the ability of its speakers — many of whom are historically Navy officers and civilians — to receive approval to attend. The note is signed by the group’s chair, John Richardson, who himself is a retired submariner and former chief of naval operations.
The Naval Submarine League’s annual symposium, while not as large as other Washington, DC-based conferences, has historically punched above its weight class in terms of speakers. It has become one of the only public events to consistently host speeches from the Navy’s top submarine commanders as well as the officers overseeing new construction programs — a meaningful feat given the submariner community’s tendency to, both figuratively and literally, stay out of public view.
This marks the second mid-level defense conference to be cancelled due to the shutdown, following the announcement that the Airlift/Tanker Association’s symposium was also scrapped. However, the AUSA conference in early October, arguably the biggest defense meeting in the US every year, was able to move forward.
Despite persistent political posturing from all sides of Capitol Hill, the shutdown, which began at the start of October, still has not shown any clear end in sight.