Women Will Serve on Submarines, Navy Secretary Says

[Navy for Moms Admin]

Release Date: 10/7/2009 9:12:00 PM
By John J. Kruzel, American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said Oct. 6 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 crew members 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."

For more news from the Secretary of the Navy, visit www.navy.mil/local/secnav.

[JLD-BensMom]

I would have to agree with you Arwen, So if I were going to serve on a sub I would certainly take precautions like preventing pregnancy (something that hasn't been mentioned here). Imagine that! Has no one even thought about that who opposes this? Like some bubble headed girl would volunteer to go on a sub! These women are not stupid!

[Arwen]

Actually, I mentioned birth control in one of my first posts. If you can't keep your legs together, it only makes sense. Birth control pills also keep cycles stable, even if I wasn't going to be stupid and have sex on a sub (there really are no private places for such a thing to happen) I would use the birth control pills just so my cycle would remain under control.

I'm also a bit disgusted by the assumption that men and women on a sub can't keep it zipped. I worked with a LOT of men, and was friends with a lot of them. Even if one did make a pass at me, friendship and being shipmates doesn't mean I want to have sex with them!

I think most of the opposition seems to be coming from wives who are feeling threatened that their men will be near other women and may have a relationship - even just a close friendship - with another woman. And being shipmates is one of the closest friendships that can exist, you depend on each other to stay alive!

A long time ago I was close friends with a cowboy (literal cowboy). All we had in common was a love of horses, and we spent hours talking about them. Except for a friendship born of a shared interest, there was nothing between us. However, his wife wouldn't let us anywhere near each other after a while because, according to her, the only female friend he was allowed to have was HER. An identical friendship with another man was fine, I simply had the wrong plumbing.

[JLD-BensMom]

Arwen, YOU are 100% on the money!! I whole heartedly agree with you!!!!!!

[Jen - Ship10mom(Div340)]

Being a woman, I hope noone is offended when I say I think this would be disastrous! Man does not = Woman. There are differences between men and women, thier strengths and thier weaknesses for a reason - we are built differently from the beginning!
I love my freedoms, my rights, and the fact that I can be respected as a capable, free-thinking individual with the ability to make powerful decisions, choices, and actions - however I am not, and never will be a man.
Our subs and thier crew are just fine the way they are, and women are able to perform almost any other role in the Navy they want to pursue, why mess up a good thing? Leave the subs to the men! (And let's thank them while we're at it!)

[Arwen]

That is the weakest possible argument, especially for submarines.

It may be a good argument that women are not as well suited as men for jobs that require a lot of physical upper-body strength. I agree there could be a point to that. Hauling line, heaving things around, etc. Maybe for boatswain's mate, machinist's mate, or damage control this argument might work.

Submarines feature mall spaces and most equipment that needs more finesse than force. Women have more endurance than men and are better at collaborative work than men. Women are, on average, smaller, need fewer calories per day, and would create a lower impact on the submarine's food supply and air supply system. Smaller bodies would make the submarine feel a bit less crowded.

Yes, there are differences between men and women, strengths and weaknesses. In the case of submarines, I would say it is men who are less suited to submarines than women. By your argument, that men and women should do what they are suited for, shouldn't it be the men who are kicked out of the submarine service?