For first time, women join Navy’s sub crew

For the first time in the Navy\'s history, women will serve on its submarines.

In the 110-year history of the Navy’s submarine force, no woman has ever officially been allowed to serve on board one of the ships. But by the end of next year, two dozen women will begin serving aboard four submarines, according to the Defense Department website.

The Navy has been ramping up for the integration since Defense Secretary Robert Gates notified Congress in February the service wanted to add women to its submarine crews.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead said his experience commanding a mixed-gender surface-combatant ship makes him very comfortable with the move.

The Navy first allowed women to serve on surface noncombatant ships in 1973 and on surface combatant ships in 1993, according to the DoD website.

This story is part of Federal News Radio’s daily DoD Report brought to you by Dell. For more defense news, click here.

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Secretary of State Antony Blinken

    Foreign Service looks back on last 100 years, highlights plan to recruit next-generation diplomats

    Read more
    Graphic By: Derace Lauderdaleearly career, skills-based hiring,workforce, diversity

    Still ‘long way to go’ after 13% bump in federal early-career employees

    Read more