Women on Submarines?

This weekend, redlegmeg and I were talking about how different the roles of the various services are from one another. Although military spouses from every branch share many of the same challenges and joys of military life, even within our community there is so much diversity. One thing that redlegmeg mentioned is that she couldn't imagine what it must be like to be a submariner's wife. We've had a few attend our SpouseBUZZ LIVE events and they've mentioned the lack of communication aboard a submarine.  

A timely conversation considering the announcement that the Navy is considering staffing submarines with female sailors. 

“This is something the CNO and I have been working on since I came into office. We are moving out aggressively on this.  I believe women should have every opportunity to serve at sea, and that includes aboard submarines.”

Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy, September 24, 2009

CinCHouse has a poll running on this issue. As of right now, 68% of respondents think it's a bad idea to integrate women aboard submarines. At the U.S. Naval Institute blog, there's a lively discussion going on. I'm not sure how many submariner wives we have reading SpouseBUZZ, but I'd be interested in reading your thoughts.

Comments

[Tressa]

My husband is a surface sailor, but I have friends who are submariner wives and so know a little about the community.

I think the biggest issue is health. When a woman on board a ship finds out that she is expecting, she is immediately placed TAD on a shore command. This is for her and her baby's safety. What would a woman do if she were to discover she was expecting while a sub was deployed? Would a sub be able to surface to allow the woman to leave the sub? Would that jeopardize the mission?

The sub community is very small. Already a small number of sailors serve aboard subs. Is it really the best use of the DOD's money to refit subs to accomodate woman when it would be such a small percentage of women serving anyway?

[Smiles]

I don't know that separate but equal is much better but if there was enough interest, why not just create a 100% female submarine unit. It provides the opportunity without the integration issues and minimal refitting.

[Kristine]

As another surface Navy gal I've also had this discussion with some sub spouses and it always comes back to "who/where are these women who want to serve on subs?" Is there enough interest among the female sailors to justify the expense? Is this something the Navy is pushing for just so they can point to these subs as an example of providing equal opportunity above, on and below the sea? I've never understood why anyone, male or female, would want to spend weeks at a time in a tin can underwater but I know there are some who do and God bless them for it!

[thomas andrews]

I feel like a lot of other submariners that all this is going to cause is trouble having women aboard subs as I have seen first hand how well that works.We had a yard bird female aboard one of my subs and a few male yardbirds who tried to use the enlisted head with a pink and blue sign to show when she was in the shower/head,she forgot and a male walk in on her.she was upset over that and it was her fault.so i feel the quarters are to close.If this goes through it will be a can of worms.

[Sarah P. (luvslikepi)]

I get claustrophobic on the submarine at Disneyland. Kudos to anyone who would want to work in one male or female it's got to be tough regardless of gender.

[Meg]

As a submarine spouse I think this is an incredibly bad idea! We have enough stress in our lives as it is, we don't need to add this to our list. On my husband's current underway, his boat is without email for 8 out of the 11 weeks the boat is underway. That means ZERO communication during that time. Even during the weeks the email is available, we usually receive them 5-7 days after our husbands send them. Dealing with this lack of communication is unbelievably stressful right now.... I can't even imagine the added issues that would come about from not being able to communicate with my spouse and having female sailors in such close proximity. For those who are unfamiliar, these boats have the living space of an average 3 bedroom home for the entire crew of 160 people. Imagine yourself in a small home for 3 months with no ability to leave, no contact with your family and imagine the drama that would start to unfold!

[carlton]

THE ISSUE IS, WHO ARE THE WOMEN IN THE NAVY THAT REALLY WANT TO BE ON SUBMARINES AND WHY?
THE ANSWERS ARE,---- THE HIGHER RANKING WOMEN OFFICERS.----AND THE REASONS ARE, BECAUSE THEY WANT TO INCREASE THEIR STATUS IN RANK.-------
IN ORDER FOR A NAVAL OFFICER TO BECOME AN ADMIRAL ETC... THE INDIVIDUAL HAS TO HAVE BEEN IN COMMAND OF A DEEP DRAFT VESSEL SUCH AS AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER,AN OILER OR A SUBMARINE. SINCE THERE ARE A DECREASING AND LIMITED NUMBER OF SURFACE CRAFT THAT FALL INTO THE CATAGORY OF BEING A DEEP DRAFT, THE ONLY OTHER VESSELS ARE SUBMARINES.
THIS ISSUE OF EQUAL RIGHTS IS FULL OF BULL. THE SAME THING HAPPENED IN THE AIRFORCE.
THATS WHY WOMEN OFFICERS WANTED TO BECOME FIGHTER PIOLTS.
I RETIRED FROM THE SUBMARINE FORCE AFTER SERVING 22 YEARS WITH 3 YEARS OF SUBMERGED TIME INCLUDED. I MADE 17 PATROLS BACK TO BACK. IF THIS STUPID IDEA HAPPENDS, I WILL RETURN MY DOLPHINS TO THE PRESIDENT AND HE CAN SHOVE IT. IF THERE IS NOT ENOUGH ROOM, GIVE MY DOLPHINS TO THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, I AM SURE HE HAS ENOUGH ROOM.
THE SAYING IS "ONCE YOU LET THE HEAD OF THE CAMEL IN THE TENT, THE ASS IS SURE TO FOLLOW." HOW TRUE THIS IS.