GROTON, Conn. (AP) — A Navy submarine group based in Groton has been formally disbanded after 49 years.

A ceremony Friday aboard the attack submarine USS Missouri marked the end of Submarine Group 2. The submarines in Virginia and Connecticut that had been under its command will now report to the commander of the Navy’s Atlantic submarine force, based in Norfolk, Virginia.

The Navy says the change will streamline the command-and-control structure and bring East Coast attack submarines in line with the way command is structured on the West Coast.

The people who staffed 45 military and civilian positions for the group have been reassigned.

The group’s top officer, Rear Adm. Kenneth Perry, is retiring after 32 years of active-duty service.

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