You beat me to it...I’m retired Air Force, but no one rises to a command billet without years of preparation and training. I’ll defer to my Navy brothers, but is there any female submariner with the requisite experience to skipper a boat, serve as chief of the boat, or even a department head?
I realize women in the submarine community will gain more rank or experience by the time the Illinois gets underway, but how much experience will she have compared to her male counterpart, who is a Commander, with at least 14-15 years of experience by the time he becomes skipper of an attack boat? And, how much experience will that first female chief of the boat have in comparison to a male senior chief or master chief?
In Air Force terms, it sounds like the equivalent of promoting a flight commander to squadron commander.
I have no problem with an all-female crew on the Illinois, provided they have the same level of experience as the “mixed” crews on other boats.
I don’t care for the mixed boat idea.
I have worked and been in the field with Army, USMC, USAF and served in USN submarines.
What I have seen with the great social experiment is lack of readiness.