Should Women Be On Submarines ??!!

[ssbn642blue]

Originally Posted by river

Sorry but after two tours and working in the shipyards on lA Class FA, I agree with the poster that said man a whole ship with women or design a new one. There is no privacy at all on the subs. Think it will be bad for morale to imho.
River

Please see post #48 for my response.

[SightNSqueeze]

Originally Posted by ssbn642blue

Please see post #48 for my response.

642blue, I think river is on board with our agreement that women ought not to be on submarines. As a shipyard worker, he would have as much structural knowledge as any of us who served aboard submarines about submarine construction and design. The issue of “operational” knowledge is understandably different.

river, the problem doesn't end with the incompatible design of submarines, but with the role of women in direct combat on the high seas as well. Direct combat was never agreed to when women were first permitted to go to sea in certain large support vessels. What we've experienced since was a severe case of "mission creep" where the services and the country turned a quiet and blind eye to the expansion of women's roles in clear violation of the original intent of women's roles as they were outlined in the ‘80s when the first women were permitted to serve aboard tenders. I am just as against women serving aboard CVs, CGs, DDGs, FFGs, and amphibious warfare ships as I am against them serving aboard any class of submarines. ASs, ADs, and other "support" ships that spend more time in port than at sea … perhaps, but nothing beyond that. The Army experienced the same problem when relatively "safe" MOSs like motor transport, recovery/maintenance and military police units found themselves in direct combat in the early stages of the Iraq War and hundreds of female casualties were the result. The Army has since remedied the problem by scaling back women from those units when they go into harm's way along side of the combat arms units. The Navy won't have that luxury when the shooting starts with a technologically advanced maritime nation because crews cannot be rotated around with the same speed and ease as units in the Army. That is why the practice of women aboard “any” type of man-o-war has to stop now.

[rksap]

As a former Submariner, my opinion is no. Tensions are high enough without adding all the BS that a coed submarine would create. I have plenty of respect for the women who serve in the military, but I can't see a coed sub working out too well. I didn't read through all of the posts on this thread, but I'm sure most of the reasons have already been covered. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.