SUBRON is the United States Navy (USN) abbreviation for Submarine Squadron. A SUBRON usually consists of three or more submarines. It is the submarine force equivalent to a Destroyer Squadron or DESRON in the surface Navy. However, unlike a DESRON -- which actually moves its staff aboard its ships and deploys with them as an operational Task Element commander -- a SUBRON commander and his staff always remain in homeport, and are responsible only for the training, equipping and administering of the ships under its umbrella. A submarine squadron is usually commanded by a Captain (O-6) who has already had at least one tour as commander of a submarine. Up until World War II and possibly afterwards, submarine squadrons could have several Submarine Divisions (SubDivs), often pairs of submarines.
The officer in charge of SUBRON ONE is designated Commander Submarine Squadron One or COMSUBRON ONE.
Several SUBRONs may be organized into a Submarine Group (SUBGRU), headed under a flag officer. For instance, CSS-17 and CSS-19 are both part of SUBGRU-9 in Bangor, Washington. The overall responsibility for submarines on the west coast of the United States is taken by the Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC); on the east coast, the same responsibility rests with the Commander Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet (COMSUBLANT). The latter is the senior of the two, and thus also plays a secondary role as Commander, Submarine Force (COMSUBFOR).
When a submarine deploys, for instance as part of a Carrier Strike Group, operational command is transferred to the numbered fleet commander for the theater to which the submarine is deploying, e.g., Commander Fifth Fleet (COMFIFTHFLT).
Odd Numbered squadrons are West Coast (Pacific Fleet), Even numbered East Coast (Atlantic Fleet).