The USS Hartford surfaced near Ice Camp Sargo in the Arctic Ocean on March 10. The Hartford was joined by the USS Hampton from San Diego, and it was planned that the two submarines would conduct arctic transits, a North Pole surfacing, and scientific data collection. The mission, called ICEX 2016, officially began on March 2 and was intended to assess the Navy’s operational readiness in the Arctic, and increase their experience in the region.