News Escaping Much Attention - Standby Submarines

Any of the following 3 news items could impact U.S. submarine deployments seriously. The only questions are which one(s), how soon, and how much?
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ITEM 1 - August 16, 2010 - Who gets discharged under 'don't ask, don't tell'?

Last year's "don't ask" discharges accounted for about one-tenth of 1 percent of all separations and did not affect the military's readiness, said congressional aides familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak on the record.

Women account for 14 percent of Army soldiers but received 48 percent of the Army's "don't ask" discharges in 2009, the study said. Six percent of the Marine Corps is female, but women accounted for 23 percent of its discharges.
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Standby, submarines.
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ITEM 2 - August 17, 2010 - Iranian fighter jet crashes near nuclear plant

The Bushehr nuclear power plant — Iran's first such facility — is expected to start fueling up this weekend.

Another local official, Mohammad Hasan Shanbadi, said technical failure was the cause of the crash but did not elaborate. He said the plane crashed in the desert, close to an industrial center.
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Standby, submarines.
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ITEM 3 - August 16, 2010 - N.Korea flew drone over sensitive border: S.Korea

North Korea flew an unmanned plane for surveillance or as a decoy after it fired a volley of shells near the disputed sea border with South Korea last week, an official said Tuesday.

It was the first time a North Korean drone had been spotted over the sensitive waters, the scene of deadly naval battles in the past decade.
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Is the DPRK attempting to provoke a border conflict with South Korea that will draw China into a military standoff with the U.S.?
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Standby, submarines.
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Submarines are always silent and strange.