The crew of the fast-attack submarine Connecticut has been subjected to a bedbug infestation in their racks, and sailors assigned to the sub allege that the boat's command has been slow to fix the problem. The infestation began while the sub was taking part in ICEX 2020 in the Arctic Ocean in March 2020 and continued during a deployment later last year, according to a Connecticut petty officer who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution. "We've had bedbugs for a year now," the petty officer said. "Sailors complained about getting bitten in the racks." "People are terrified of getting bit," he added. While sailors allege they battled bedbugs for most of 2020, Cmdr. Cynthia Fields, a Naval Submarine Forces Pacific spokeswoman, said the boat's command first reported the issue in December, and that the "physical presence" of bedbugs wasn't found onboard until Feb. 19. "Navy criteria for treating submarines or ships requires physical presence of bedbugs to establish existence," she said.
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