Women 'Soon' Will Serve on Submarines, Navy Secretary Says

American Forces Press Service ^ | John J. Kruzel

[SandRat]

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2009 – Navy Secretary Ray Mabus yesterday said women soon will serve on submarines, suggesting a reversal of the long-standing ban by the Navy.

Appearing on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” Mabus signaled that the Navy is moving closer to allowing coed personnel on submarines.

“It will take a little while because you’ve got to interview people and you’ve got to be nuclear trained,” he said, referring to prerequisite steps before a sailor is assigned to a submarine.

Officials previously have cited a lack of privacy and the cost of reconfiguring subs as obstacles to allowing female crewmembers to serve aboard the vessels.

But Mabus is one of several top Navy officials recently to call for an end to the policy. The Navy secretary’s comments yesterday amplify his previous endorsement of ending the ban.

“This is something the [chief of naval operations] and I have been working on since I came into office,” Mabus, who was confirmed as Navy secretary in May, said last week. “We are moving out aggressively on this.

“I believe women should have every opportunity to serve at sea, and that includes aboard submarines,” he told reporters following a tour of Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Newport News shipyard.

Navy Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, acknowledged that special accommodations would be a factor in the decision, but one that’s not insurmountable.
“Having commanded a mixed-gender surface combatant, I am very comfortable addressing integrating women into the submarine force,” he said in a statement last month. “I am familiar with the issues as well as the value of diverse crews.”

Roughead said he has been personally engaged through the years in the Navy’s debate of the feasibility of assigning women to submarines.

“There are some particular issues with integrating women into the submarine force -- issues we must work through in order to achieve what is best for the Navy and our submarine force,” he said. “This has had and will continue to have my personal attention as we work toward increasing the diversity of our Navy afloat and ashore."

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addressed the issue with the Senate Armed Services Committee last month.

“I believe we should continue to broaden opportunities for women,” Mullen is quoted as saying in response to written questions posed by the Senate Armed Services Committee. “One policy I would like to see changed is the one barring their service aboard submarines.”

Mullen, a champion of diversifying the services, said this month that having a military that reflects the demographics of the United States is “a strategic imperative for the security of our country.”

Biographies:
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen
Ray Mabus
Navy Adm. Gary Roughead

Related Articles:
Navy Officials Push for Allowing Women on Submarines

[Gay State Conservative]

The women will not last ..

They will as long as Hussein is in "command".He'll see to it.

[screaminsunshine]

Cool. I hope you were not offended.

[Indy Pendance]

Did you ever think 72 virgins for all eternity was not enough?

[Pan_Yan]

Do subs even *do* 6 month cruises

It depends. If you are on a crappy boat you stay out until something breaks. If you are on a good boat you cover your missions and the missions of the boats that broke. I was at sea 220 days one year.

[SmithL]

Like Snorkel Patty "served" in Submarine Bars.

When I was on the Theodore Roosevelt, it could dive AND surface!

[Indy Pendance]

Offended? LOL! No way, I have 4 brothers, 0 sisters. Nothing phases me, I love the jokes. PC be damned!

[traditional1]

"Did you ever think 72 virgins for all eternity was not enough?"

Well, silly me...

I assure you I don't think ANY of the gals that "serve" on subs will be qualified thereafter as one of the "72".

However, they sure could end each cruise with a bundle o' cash to carry them through in the future!

[thefrankbaum]

Snopes says that Stress cards are bunk. I know they aren't the best source of information, but do either of you have any gouge about this currently going on? I simply can't believe we've fallen that far, that fast...

[screaminsunshine]

Hot Damn! Three if by government.

[Nosterrex]

I’ve served on fast attack subs and ballistic subs. I have no words to express how absurd I think that the idea of women serving on subs is. It is bad enough now having women serve in the Navy. As a retired senior officer, I had to deal with the fact that women have a far higher absentee rate than males due to “hormonal” problems. The pregnancy rate, even among officers, is a huge problem. Most of them are single mothers. Every ship on which I served with women would make the love boat look tame. There is more screwing going on in a mixed crew auxiliary ship in the Navy than in a Bangkok brothel. I can’t even begin to list the number of divorces I have had to deal with over these mixed crew experiments. It is one gawd awful mess. What is really and truly aggravating is that if you want to make a career out of the Navy, you don’t dare say anythingnegative about women serving in the Navy. It you do, you’ll never get promoted.

[Indy Pendance]

My army daughter and son-in-law, experiencing it first hand is proof enough for me. They’ve seen it with their very own eyes. My SIL is an E6 or E7 (I can’t keep up with his rank, he’s a sarge), and leads a group of military personal and has experienced this FIRST HAND!

[SandRat]

Asking Divine Protection for Those In Service

O God, I beseech You, watch over those exposed to the horror of war,
and the spiritual dangers of a soldier’s or sailor’s life.

Give them such a strong faith that no human respect may ever lead them to deny it,
nor fear ever to practice it.
By Your grace, O God,
fortify them against the contagion of bad example,
that being preserved from vice,
and serving You faithfully,
they may be ready to meet you face to face when they are so called:
through Christ our Lord.
Amen

[SandRat]

Let’s not forget the increase in Divorce rates.

[SandRat]

It’s going on at basic. Not at AIT any longer. Thank GOD.

[Bryanw92]

>>I would like it if the Navy put women on just one or two subs as a “shake down” to double check the thesis that it’s workable.

If the Pentagon would give it an honest shakedown, I’d agree. Unfortunately, political correctness mandates that any problems with women on submarines will be the fault of the men.

I served on subs for 8 years. It’s a stressful environment 24/7 and requires a certain amount of informality to keep people sane. Adding women and all the issues that involves would be disastrous.

Having a woman standing watch in Manuevering would make about 80% of the conversations we had off-limits. I’d hate to think what a couple months underwater would be like when you can’t talk about anything but the weather.

[Doohickey]

Yes. I’ve done it twice.

[Indy Pendance]

What is really and truly aggravating is that if you want to make a career out of the Navy, you don’t dare say anything negative about women serving in the Navy. It you do, you’ll never get promoted.

Someday, I hope we'll wake up. Unless I'm appointed dictator, we'll still be battling this crap for years, or unless the repugs wake up, (LOL) We've cut off our funding of the RNC completely, donate directly to conservative candidates. LOL, I'm dreaming, I know. Elect me as your dictator. We will solve our problems in under a year if I'm dictator!

[SandRat]

You know this idea came from a Skimmer it the originator served at all.

[Doohickey]

I know of women on the tender that would do the same thing to avoid getting underway for a two week OPPE.

[Indy Pendance]

I didn’t know about AIT, but likewise as you’ve said, Thank God!