Posted on 02/26/2010 4:44:12 PM PST by SandRat
WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2010 – Female sailors will begin serving on submarines by the end of next year, with Naval Academy graduates leading the way, Navy leaders told a Senate committee yesterday.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Navy is in a good position to move forward with integrating women onto submarines.
“We think we learned a lot about integrating women in the services years ago, and those lessons are relevant today,” Mabus said. Those lessons, he said, include having a “critical mass” of female candidates, having senior women to serve as mentors, and having submarines that don’t require modifications: the SSBN ballistic missile and SSGN guided-missile subs.
Finally, Mabus said, “We have the lesson learned to make sure any questions are answered, … and we’re very open and transparent on how we’ll do this. We think this is a great idea that will enhance our warfighting capabilities.”
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates notified Congress on Feb. 19 of the intended change to Navy policy. Mabus had pushed for the change since taking office in May. Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, endorsed the change, saying in a statement released in September that his experience commanding a mixed-gender surface-combatant ship makes him “very comfortable” integrating women into the submarine force. The Navy changed its policy to allow women to serve on combatant ships in 1993.
“We have a great plan, and we’re ready to go for the first women to come aboard in late 2011,” Roughead told the Senate committee yesterday. In a prepared statement to the committee, he said the change would enable the submarine force “to leverage the tremendous talent and potential of our female officers and enlisted personnel.”
Besides the incoming officers from the academy, the first women submariners will include female supply corps officers at the department head level, Roughead said. The change will be phased in over time to include enlisted female sailors on the SSBN and SSGNs, he said. Women will be added to the Navy’s SSN fast-attack submarines after necessary modifications can be determined, he said.
“This initiative has my personal attention, and I will continue to keep you informed as we integrate these highly motivated and capable officers into our submarine force,” Roughead told the committee.
The “Love Boat” sails beneath the waves.
It’s only a stupid idea if you like America and favor a strong US military to protect US interests. The people running our country today love the idea - for what they want it’s the smart thing to do.
Are posters allowed to inject their opinion in the header?
I respect the right to espouse an opinion, but it’s as if he/she has been given the right to speak on the behalf of everyone on FR, including JimRob.
I thought it was a long standing tradition to post whatever you wanted between the parenthesis (e.g., 'Barf Alert'; etc...)
Especially on a sub, a cohesive unit working together is vital to just staying alive!
I am getting tired of the, "I can, so allow me" arguement...
I won't go into all the horrible things people can do that are speciffically dis-allowed!!
Hmmmm....I wonder how long until Obama turns the Navy SEAL’s into a Gay/Female Muslim Outreach group........
You've been here over 10 years and haven't seen that before? Wow.
It may be. If true, it’s a dumb idea.
It makes FR look like DU.
Every “barf alert” is an opinion, alas! Even if I do not agree with the original poster about this one.
Just give them their own submarine, all female crew. See what happens.
Sure, I’ve seen parenthetical statements...but they’ve gotten way out of hand lately.
Some semblance of decorum would be nice—and as I said, it’s presumptuous to assume one has been given the authority to post his/her opinion as universal.
So the American submarine service is weak, has always been weak, and will remain weak, and we don't and never have liked America until these women actually get into the submarine service at some point in the future?
If the Admin Moderator wants to change it that’s fine with me.
Sad, that I had to find out about your concerns indirectly by scanning my thread.
We all live on a ladies’ submarine,
Ladies’ submarine,
Ladies’ submarine.
It won’t last past the first cruise.
bookmark
Are they going to have an estrogen escape valve to prevent the men from starting their periods?
It is universal enough among the military, veterans, and conservatives.
Among leftists, feminists and the anti military population, the opposite view is pretty universal.
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