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http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stor...tion-women-submarines/?military&zIndex=172553
Top brass committed; no timeline specified
By Steve Liewer
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
2:00 a.m. September 26, 2009
The military's senior leaders are preparing to integrate women into the last area of the Navy still off-limits to them: submarines.
In the past two days, the Navy secretary, the chief of naval operations and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have all said they are committed to the change, though none would specify a time frame.
“We are moving out aggressively on this,” Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said yesterday in a statement. “I believe women should have every opportunity to serve at sea, and that includes aboard submarines.”
Navy women whose career options have been limited because of combat restrictions see the move as long overdue.
“I am so excited about this news!” said Rear Adm. Ronne Froman of Mission Hills, who retired in 2001 as one of the Navy's highest-ranking women after a 31-year career. “When I joined, we couldn't go to sea; we didn't have command; there were no lady admirals. It kind of evolved over the years I was in the Navy.”
It's not clear whether the move will meet the same kind of opposition from male sailors that arose in the mid-1990s, when women were first integrated into naval aviation and surface-ship crews.
“Personally, I don't think women are going to be as successful on submarines,” said retired Senior Chief Petty Officer Robert Bissonnette, 45, of Spring Valley, commander of the San Diego chapter of U.S. Submarine Veterans Inc. “But that's old-Navy mentality. People have got to change with the times.”
Women had been barred from most combat positions throughout the military until 1993, when Congress repealed the prohibition and left the policy up to the individual services.
Navy officials lifted the aviation and surface-ship bans but continued to exclude women from submarines because of the extremely tight quarters and lack of privacy. Crew members are required to sleep in the same bunks at different times, called “hot-racking,” during voyages that last for months. Redesigning berthing areas and bathrooms wasn't practical, the officials concluded.
In a 1995 policy study for the Navy, San Diego-based defense contractor SAIC highlighted the difficulties.
“Introducing women into submarines is less a question of whether they can do the day-to-day work than . . . whether the added complications of a mixed-gender crew will undermine the operational effectiveness of the ship,” the SAIC study said. “Therefore, the focus should not be on women, per se, but on the ramification of having mixed-gender crews in the unique submarine environment.”
Now it's time to get past those practical considerations, said Adm. Gary Roughead, who as chief of naval operations is responsible for implementing any new policy.
In a statement yesterday, Roughead said he had commanded an integrated surface ship and had studied the implications for subs.
“Accommodations are a factor but not insurmountable,” Roughead said. “This has had and will continue to have my personal attention as we work toward increasing the diversity of our Navy, afloat and ashore.”
The issue arose Thursday when the Web site Military.com reported that Adm. Mike Mullen, the Joint Chiefs chairman, had expressed his commitment to bringing women aboard subs in written answers to questions from members of Congress last week.
Mabus and Roughead followed up with statements of support. Roughead and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Rick West both posted brief comments about it on their Facebook pages yesterday.
“Our sailors are mature enough and responsible enough to make this happen,” West said.
West's page drew more than 60 comments, on both sides of the issue.
“This is a bad idea,” wrote a poster named Jose. “I know gender barriers were broken in the surface fleet, but this is completely different due to the nature of the submarine's make-up. Don't go down a path you will regret.”
Others, though, said the Navy will adapt.
“I believe that times have evolved enough to make this happen,” wrote Paul, who described himself as a 23-year Navy veteran. “There have been numerous barriers that have come down in our Service, and we've survived them all.”
Dozens more posted comments on a blog popular in the submarine community, bubbleheads.blogspot.com, run by retired submariner Joel Kennedy of Meridian, Idaho.
In a phone interview yesterday, Kennedy, 46, said he was surprised that the comments weren't harsher, coming from a group steeped in macho tradition.
“It seems like this time there's more people who are recognizing that, yeah, it has to happen,” Kennedy said.
The training required to run a nuclear submarine's power plant is lengthy and demanding, and few women currently receive it. While Navy leaders gave no timeline for implementing the change, Kennedy said he expects to see integrated crews within five years.
He also said he expects greater resistance from submariners' wives than from the sailors themselves.
“The active-duty force will salute and say, ‘Aye-aye, sir!’ ” Kennedy said.
Top brass committed; no timeline specified
By Steve Liewer
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
2:00 a.m. September 26, 2009
The military's senior leaders are preparing to integrate women into the last area of the Navy still off-limits to them: submarines.
In the past two days, the Navy secretary, the chief of naval operations and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have all said they are committed to the change, though none would specify a time frame.
“We are moving out aggressively on this,” Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said yesterday in a statement. “I believe women should have every opportunity to serve at sea, and that includes aboard submarines.”
Navy women whose career options have been limited because of combat restrictions see the move as long overdue.
“I am so excited about this news!” said Rear Adm. Ronne Froman of Mission Hills, who retired in 2001 as one of the Navy's highest-ranking women after a 31-year career. “When I joined, we couldn't go to sea; we didn't have command; there were no lady admirals. It kind of evolved over the years I was in the Navy.”
It's not clear whether the move will meet the same kind of opposition from male sailors that arose in the mid-1990s, when women were first integrated into naval aviation and surface-ship crews.
“Personally, I don't think women are going to be as successful on submarines,” said retired Senior Chief Petty Officer Robert Bissonnette, 45, of Spring Valley, commander of the San Diego chapter of U.S. Submarine Veterans Inc. “But that's old-Navy mentality. People have got to change with the times.”
Women had been barred from most combat positions throughout the military until 1993, when Congress repealed the prohibition and left the policy up to the individual services.
Navy officials lifted the aviation and surface-ship bans but continued to exclude women from submarines because of the extremely tight quarters and lack of privacy. Crew members are required to sleep in the same bunks at different times, called “hot-racking,” during voyages that last for months. Redesigning berthing areas and bathrooms wasn't practical, the officials concluded.
In a 1995 policy study for the Navy, San Diego-based defense contractor SAIC highlighted the difficulties.
“Introducing women into submarines is less a question of whether they can do the day-to-day work than . . . whether the added complications of a mixed-gender crew will undermine the operational effectiveness of the ship,” the SAIC study said. “Therefore, the focus should not be on women, per se, but on the ramification of having mixed-gender crews in the unique submarine environment.”
Now it's time to get past those practical considerations, said Adm. Gary Roughead, who as chief of naval operations is responsible for implementing any new policy.
In a statement yesterday, Roughead said he had commanded an integrated surface ship and had studied the implications for subs.
“Accommodations are a factor but not insurmountable,” Roughead said. “This has had and will continue to have my personal attention as we work toward increasing the diversity of our Navy, afloat and ashore.”
The issue arose Thursday when the Web site Military.com reported that Adm. Mike Mullen, the Joint Chiefs chairman, had expressed his commitment to bringing women aboard subs in written answers to questions from members of Congress last week.
Mabus and Roughead followed up with statements of support. Roughead and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Rick West both posted brief comments about it on their Facebook pages yesterday.
“Our sailors are mature enough and responsible enough to make this happen,” West said.
West's page drew more than 60 comments, on both sides of the issue.
“This is a bad idea,” wrote a poster named Jose. “I know gender barriers were broken in the surface fleet, but this is completely different due to the nature of the submarine's make-up. Don't go down a path you will regret.”
Others, though, said the Navy will adapt.
“I believe that times have evolved enough to make this happen,” wrote Paul, who described himself as a 23-year Navy veteran. “There have been numerous barriers that have come down in our Service, and we've survived them all.”
Dozens more posted comments on a blog popular in the submarine community, bubbleheads.blogspot.com, run by retired submariner Joel Kennedy of Meridian, Idaho.
In a phone interview yesterday, Kennedy, 46, said he was surprised that the comments weren't harsher, coming from a group steeped in macho tradition.
“It seems like this time there's more people who are recognizing that, yeah, it has to happen,” Kennedy said.
The training required to run a nuclear submarine's power plant is lengthy and demanding, and few women currently receive it. While Navy leaders gave no timeline for implementing the change, Kennedy said he expects to see integrated crews within five years.
He also said he expects greater resistance from submariners' wives than from the sailors themselves.
“The active-duty force will salute and say, ‘Aye-aye, sir!’ ” Kennedy said.
