By State Senator Cathy Cook

One of the truly wonderful things about being a State Senator is the opportunity to sometimes witness history being made. This happened for me earlier this month when I attended the commissioning of the USS Jimmy Carter at the Naval Submarine Base on Presidents' Day weekend.

With former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, in attendance, it was an emotional ceremony. The presence of President Carter, who has earned his reputation as both a great humanitarian and a citizen of the world, reminded all of us that our nation has a moral responsibility to use such powerful weapons wisely. The only president to have earned a submariner's dolphins, he had taken the time to personally meet most of the first crew assigned to the submarine named for him. Seeing President Carter witness the commissioning of our Navy's most advanced attack submarine, a particularly heavily armed Seawolf, was both awe inspiring and humbling. I was honored to be there.

As a State Senator whose district includes Electric Boat, this was not the first time I had attended the commissioning of a new submarine. Each commissioning ceremony is special and exciting, but for many reasons I found this one especially poignant. Besides the presence of former President and Mrs. Carter, I was also mindful of the battle going on behind the scenes with the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process that could - but hopefully will not - lead to a recommendation this spring to close our U.S. Naval Submarine Base. Of course, I took the opportunity to speak to several high level Navy and defense officials to make our case for the Groton sub base.

Of course, this is not the first time that we have faced the possible closure of our base. In the past, good sense prevailed and the many contributions, both past and present, made by the U.S. Naval Submarine Base to our nation's defense were seen as too valuable to throw away. To be sure, both our Congressional delegation and state legislators are burning the midnight oil to show our federal government's decision makers that nothing has changed - the U.S. Naval Submarine Base remains vital to our nation's defense.

As the Senate ranking member of the General Assembly's Commerce Committee, and as a legislator who represents southeastern Connecticut, I am very involved with the efforts to remind defense officials of the base's importance to our state's economy, as well as to our nation's defense. Among other things, I am working with my colleagues to craft legislation to enhance defense manufacturing in our state.

At the time I am writing this column, I am very encouraged by the efforts being made to keep the U.S. Naval Submarine Base open. I will continue to keep you informed as the BRAC process continues.

Meanwhile, please keep in touch. As always, I urge you to contact me with any questions or concerns you have. I can be reached toll free at 1-(800) 842-1421 or you can send me e-mail at Catherine.Cook@cga.ct.gov . If you would like to track our progress in passing legislation this year please feel free to visit our website at www.cga.ct.gov

All the best,