C. M. Glover for The New York TimesThe submarine base in Groton, Conn., is among 33 major bases the Pentagon is seeking to close. GROTON, Conn., Aug. 19 - In a report to Congress in March 2004, the Navy projected that it would need a fleet of 55 nuclear-powered attack submarines in 2024. A year later, the Navy lowered the projection to 45. By May, Admiral Vern Clark, who was then the chief of naval operations, said he wanted 41. Others now talk of a fleet in the 30's. It has been 16 years since the Berlin Wall fell,...