2016 will be a milestone year for the U.S. military, a year when one of its few remaining gender barriers will be dismantled as four enlisted women become the first to integrate into the crew of a Navy submarine.
The four sailors, who along with 38 other enlisted women completed an intensive basic submarine course in October, will report for duty to the U.S.S. Michigan, a guided missile submarine, in “early 2016,” The Navy Times reported.
The exact date of the integration remains unknown.
In October, the Atlantic Fleet’s top enlisted submariner said the navy was still laboring over the instructions for the integration.
“We are revising our instruction that was -- no kidding -- 49 pages long of excruciating detail on what you wear on the treadmill and how you manage the head,” said Force Master Chief Wes Koshoffer, per The Navy Times. “The instruction just ought to read: We will treat each other with dignity and respect because we are professionals. We have a fraternization policy and until we cross those lines, proceed.”
Captain Andrew Jarrett, the commander of the Naval Submarine School, said earlier this year that the female sailors will be given “the same opportunities as their male counterparts” when they report for duty.
“It will be good for the navy, it will be good for the young ladies, it will be good for the submarine force,” Jarrett said, according to The Associated Press.
The navy lifted its ban on women serving aboard submarines in 2010. The following year, the first female officers began service aboard Ohio-class subs. In January, an officer became the first woman to serve aboard a fast-attack Virginia-class submarine.
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