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Firsts

First Female Submarine Officers Begin Their Training

by Susana Polo | 4:20 pm, May 10th, 2011


The nuclear submarine has long been one of the last completely gender exclusive posts in many navies around the world. The typically long and isolated deployments, along with a very cramped and communal environment has kept armed forces from being comfortable with creating co-ed  submarine crews. According to Wikipedia the U.S. Navy allows only three exceptions to the ban on women in submarines, “female civilian technicians for a few days at most; women midshipmen on an overnight during summer training for both Navy ROTC and Naval Academy; [and] family members for one-day dependent cruises.”

However, the U.S.’s ban on women in subs has recently been overturned (at least partially) and yesterday eight women officers reported for the Submarine Officer Basic Course in Groton, Connecticut.

Currently, only women who are officers are exempt from the ban. It was determined that since the rank of officer on a submarine comes with the privilege of a private bunk and a officer-only bathroom, this sidestepped many of the reasons for denying women the opportunity to serve there. According to the AP, “the lone bathroom for officers will bear a reversible sign, letting men know it’s in use by women and vice versa,” and “the Navy is still exploring the feasibility of modifying submarines’ configurations to open the enlisted ranks to women.”

This is definitely a case where we’re willing to recognize that just building another bathroom/barracks is not as easy or feasible as it might sound. We wish these service women well, as they boldly go where women have rarely gone before.

(via Jezebel.)

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  • http://www.facebook.com/1shewolf JoAnna Luffman

    Yeah, subs present interesting problems. I toured a few subs, and cramped would be an improvement! If it was possible to have (for the time being!) subs with one or the other gender enlisted, that would work until new ones with female quarters could be arranged. It probably wouldn’t be feasible, as who knows if there are enough women who could staff one?

  • http://amidstdancers.blogspot.com/ Shard Aerliss

    I always said the only way I’d ever serve if enlisted was on a sub… then I found out that women can’t serve on subs because… well, er… they might be pregnant! Or people might start having sex with each other!

    And here I was thinking those in the armed forces were better trained in self discipline than the rest of us soft-y civilians. >_>

  • http://www.divinemind.biz/blog Angel

    @aerliss:disqus Ha! There’s no training in self-discipline in the military. You figure it out yourself or you don’t. In truth, serving in the military is a great way to be surrounded by idiots who can’t be fired!

  • Arakiba

    The rapes will start coming soon too, probably.

  • http://amidstdancers.blogspot.com/ Shard Aerliss

    Surely everything in the army is about self discipline. Getting up early, keeping meticulously tidy, physical endurance, not running away in a crisis.

  • Lex_y

    I think this is awesome.

  • Nicole Hazen

    What do you mean start? The military has a high rape count already.

  • Ashley

    I’m from the Groton area, and I’m really excited to see this happening.  I can only hope that there aren’t any issues when the servicewomen actually go out on deployments,

  • http://www.facebook.com/squiggles.am.i Stefanie Fernandez-Paradis

    It’s a bad idea period. It’s one thing for the lady folks to be in surface fleet, and doing deployments. It’s another when women, whether
    2 or half the crew, to in a tiny metal tube for 3 months, with no
    surfacing. For those of you who don’t know, if a nuke surfaces, they
    have to explain to the President(US obviously) why. Accidents happen, having to surface b/c a sailor turns up pregnant is not going to sit well with anyone.
    Pregnancies are never accidents, not planned sure, but not accidents.
    You can’t accidentally have sex. I’m not hating on the sexual assault
    victims, those sailors gotta pay for being dicks. I’m hating on the
    fraternizing parties. I agree with one gender or the other. Both who are sans rank is a bad, bad idea.

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