“”The Air Force might be able to handle near earth, but if you’re talking deep space, the only institution is the Navy,” he says.”
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I wonder how much of that statement is due to Clementine? The US Navy is the only overtly military department to have mapped in detail (Hi-Res) a non-Earthly body - the Clementine moon mission in 1994; much of the product remains classified to this day.
Probably not much. The Navy has centuries of experience in operating vessels in hostile environments, and commanding men to work and live under discipline in close quarters and for long periods of time. Army?? no. Air Force?? no.
A nuclear sub is just a apace ship operating in a water environment.
In fact, there is actually a sci-fi series based directly on that idea.