females in the navy

[Karen Kunkel]

My daughter is leaving in 12 days for basic and I think it's harder to see a daughter go into the military because she will be a small minority. Are females treated the same? I'm just a concerned parent.

[tammyl]

My daughter left on 02/05/14... she's had her ups and downs, but generally doing well. She did say she wished she had ran and exercised a bit more, but following the start guide really helped. I continually tell her how proud I am of her. Am I worried, oh yeah, but what parent doesn't worry. Just remember this is her life to do as she chooses. Once I remembered that it was a little easier letting her go. She knows I am always here for her. I hope this helps.

[Anti M]

I was in the Navy.  There is a lot of emphasis on equal opportunity, a lot of training on sexual harassment, about fraternization, and more.  Her opportunities for advancement and her responsibilities are the same as for males.  Overall, it is a safe and fair environment.  Are there young (and older) men with foolish ideas about women?  Yes.  Does she need to be assertive at times?  Yes.  Will she feel pressured to fit in?  Sure.  You do hear the stories about assault, but that is not the norm.  She will need to be aware of her surroundings and choices as would any young woman ... a college campus is more dangerous than a military base in my opinion.

 Still, young people all together ... A school romances are a bad idea.  Dating your shipmates, bad idea.  However, I married the sailor whose job I was taking over, and I have more than one friend who married another sailor.  It happens, I can't judge.  Just tell her to try and make good choices.

[Sadie]

My daughter is leaving for boot camp on Tuesday and I felt/feel the

[Concernedad]

My daughter is leaving for boot camp on Tuesday and I felt/feel the....

Ooooh, a fill in the blank! I love these! ....ummm, roses??

I'm dying with anticipation here. 

[MDESFRED]

LOL

[Sadie]

I had a whole thing types up and forgot to post it! Ugh.

[jbird75]

The Invisible War is a great documentary. I feel it is a must-see for anyone who has a loved one in the military. It is eye opening.

[Craig]

Karen,

Being a retired sailor I need to understand how you are slicing the "minority" groups.  I believe females don't even come close to being a "small minority" group.  I think Black, Asian, Native American, Gays, Lesbians, Latino, and just a whole bunch more are even smaller.

The reason I'm saying this is to make a point.  WE ARE ALL SAILORS!  We are suppose to be blind to sex, race, religion, sexual preference..etc.  Does it happen?  No, we are all human too, we treat everyone differently.  Everyone quickly jumps on the sexual harassment bandwagon mainly because the news keeps publishing some idiot (male or female) doing stupid things. 

It wasn't long ago, blacks were harassed.  The bottom-line is don't get sucked up in all of this.  Your daughter will do fine.  It wasn't long ago we finally allowed women on ships.  Now we are allowing them on submarines.  Why?  because we have changed as a society.  Our Navy is a reflection of it.  Yea, you will always have bad guys/gals doing stupid stuff.  I still see sailors being discharged for drugs, improper sexual contact, robbery, murder, you name it.  The Navy has a lot less than the civilian world, but we still have it.   

Your daughter will have a much greater opportunity in the Navy compared to the civilian world.  She will become part of the team.  As a team, each member has to pull their weight.  Everyone pulls their weight differently.  I once had a sailor who worked for me.  She was tiny!  She couldn't lift a heavy Crypto machine like some of beefy guys, but she was the only one that could do work in the tiny space behind the electronic equipment racks without having to disassemble everything.  She fit!  She did her job well.  She saved us hours of work. 

The bottom-line is what you've heard in the old days, it's not how the military works now.  It kind-of reminds me of this old 1972 Navy recruiting ad.  Can you imagine if this ad was posted now?  Wow, would that tick off people.  But, it's part of our past.  

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" ~George Santayana

Picture from the Navy History & Heritage Command

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/prs-tpic/af-amer/afa-pstr.htm 

[Anti M]

Craig, love it.

In my experience, the women who did their jobs well were not questioned when they advanced or won awards.  Well, except for the guys who were slackers and whiners themselves, and could not believe someone did the job better than they did.  They complained about everything.  This was about 30 years ago, so there is always someone making life difficult for the hard workers in every generation.

[WearsLargeHats]

 I once had a sailor who worked for me.  She was tiny!  She couldn't lift a heavy Crypto machine like some of beefy guys, but she was the only one that could do work in the tiny space behind the electronic equipment racks without having to disassemble everything.  She fit!  She did her job well.  She saved us hours of work. 

I love it! Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, but when we work together we are all stronger. 

[Karen Kunkel]

I really appreciate everyone who comment on my post. She has told me many times that she wants more to her life than a dead end job with a dead end life. She has never been away from family and in a way it's mostly me that's concerned, one thing I know is that she may be tiny and only 107 lbs but she can really be a firecracker and her recruiters have told me that she will be able to hold her own. 

[Craig]

Karen,

Have your daughter talk to some of the other deppers and active duty sailors on my website, NavyDEP.com.  
If nothing else, just have her read this one thread.  She will learn a lot from it:
http://www.navydep.com/forums/showthread.php?t=433