Naval Academy Introduces First Women To Serve On Subs

By Earl Kelly, Hometown Annapolis, May 7, 2010

A group of Naval Academy seniors who will be among the first women to serve on U.S. submarines said Thursday they remain undaunted by their critics.

Ten of the 11 Naval Academy female mids who have been selected for submarine service met with the media at the academy.

"It can't bother you - there were people who didn't want us here at the Naval Academy in the first place," Midshipman 1st Class Elizabeth Hudson, of Plymouth, Mass., said of the opposition.

Hudson, a systems engineering major and a boat captain on the academy's offshore sailing team, said she has grown accustomed to competing in a predominantly male environment.

"We were all sailors. … We wanted to race and we wanted to win; it was not male versus female," she said of being at sea with men.

The women were straightforward when discussing the one concern that critics frequently raise: If a woman discovers she is pregnant soon after the ship deploys for months under the ocean, what happens?

"Just like any other female in the military, we have to be smart about our careers," said Midshipman 1st Class Tabitha Gant, of Bowie. "As long as we are intelligent about our life choices, it shouldn't be a problem."

Women have served aboard surface combat ships since 1994, and Midshipman 1st Class Kayla Sax, of Richland, Wash., said the situation facing female submarine officers is not all that different.

"You just have to be responsible with your family planning. You would have to do that in the surface fleet, too," Sax said.

The Navy is looking this year to commission up to 19 women as submarine officers. Some of them will come from the ROTC and the Officer Candidate School programs, said Navy spokesman Lt. Justin Cole.

Two women, both chemical engineering majors in the ROTC program at North Carolina State University, were selected this week, a Navy spokeswoman said, and the Pentagon is still reviewing other applicants.

Female officers will be assigned to submarines in groups of three - two submarine officers, plus a supply officer who is not counted among the 19 submarine officers, Cole said.

The new ensigns will attend more than a year of training after graduating from the academy, including attending nuclear propulsion school in Charleston, S.C., and submarine officers school in Connecticut. They all are to report to their ships in 2012.

Once on a sub, women will have their own sleeping area but will share a bathroom with male officers, Navy officials said.

Because of privacy concerns, they will be stationed aboard only the larger submarines, which include ballistic missile and guided missile submarines, the SSBNs and SSGNs. They will not be assigned to the smaller SSN fast attack submarines such as the USS Annapolis.

"We are not getting ahead of ourselves (by adding female) enlisted crew or SSNs," Cole said.

Confident seniors

The midshipmen seemed relaxed and confident when talking with the media on Thursday.

Like all mids, they got to spend a 24-hour shift aboard subs during their summer training, and some of them said they have wanted to serve on submarines ever since.

They said they admired the intelligence of the sub crews and the way a close-knit group would work together to make the boat run smoothly.

The women selected to serve on submarines said they learned of their assignments this week.

The 11 already had chosen other service assignments, and eight had chosen nuclear-powered surface warfare, which requires much the same training as junior submarine officers undergo. Another mid had selected conventional surface warfare, and another was planning to become a Navy pilot. One, Hudson, was slated to serve in the Marine Corps ground forces.

Gant, who is from Bowie, said of the opposition to women serving on submarines, "I have experienced it enough. It is not a factor."

Midshipman 1st Class Laura Martindale said that male midshipmen have been supportive of her assignment to submarines.

"In the Navy, it is all about being qualified," she said.

'Create discord'

The idea of women serving aboard submarines has met with withering criticism, much of it from older Naval Academy graduates.

John Howland, a 1964 Naval Academy graduate and creator of the popular subscription blog USNA-At-Large, served five years on submarines.

The new policy, he said, "is not a 99.9 percent chance of disaster, it is a 100 percent guarantee of disaster."

Howland said he worries that if a submarine officer gets pregnant, the fetus could be damaged by the substandard air inside submarines, a point some Navy physicians have made for years.

The presence of women will destroy order and discipline on submarines, he said, and create discord between sailors and their wives.

"The folks who are in favor of this kind of stuff are social engineers," Howland said.

Annapolis resident Sharon Hanley Disher, who graduated from the academy in 1980, the first graduating class to include women, said of the opposition, "We have heard it before."

The matter will be settled as soon as a ship's commander says, "This is the way it is going to be," Disher said.

The women "are going to be fine. It is not going to be easy, but they are going to be fine. … Once they (the opponents) meet these gals, they are going to be impressed."

Eleven first class female midshipmen from the Naval Academy Class of 2010 have been selected to serve on submarines:

• Tabitha Gant, Bowie.

• Abigail Gesecki, Luzerne, Colo.

• Elizabeth Hudson, Plymouth, Mass.

• Peggy LeGrand, Amarillo, Texas.

• Rachel Lessard, Newburyport, Mass.

• Kristin Lyles, Fairfax Station, Va.

• Laura Martindale, Roselle, Ill.

• Marquette Ried, Fort Collins, Colo.

• Kayla Sax, Richland, Wash.

• Misty Webster, Wesley Chapel, Fla.

• Jessica Wilcox, Honesdale, Pa.

January 7, 2010

USS Flasher SSN 613 Reunion

Dates: May 12-16 2010

Place: Seattle Washington

Hotel: Courtyard by Marriott in Tukwila WA

16038 West Valley Highway

Tukwila, WA 98188

Phone 425-255-0300

Rate $94/night

Be sure to mention Flasher Reunion to receive our rate.

Proposed Activities
Wednesday, May 12th	Arrivals, Meet in Hospitality Room
Thursday, May 13th	Sub Tour, BBQ at Adm. Bacon’s
Friday May, 14th	Assoc. Meeting AM, self tours, and Pizza and Raffles in PM
Saturday May, 15th	Memorial Service AM, self tours, and Dinner in PM, Guest Speaker Roger Bacon
Sunday, May 16th	Make turns for home.

Greetings Flasher people, Soul Pig here. I know everyone is anxious for details of the next Flasher reunion. I apologize for any delay but I have been trying to wrap up some loose ends. I believe we are close enough to send this letter. A registration form is attached. We have some added fees as we will be hiring a bus for transportation to the base and Admiral Bacon’s house.

The Courtyard by Marriott has a free shuttle from and to the SeaTac airport and within a three mile radius. You have to call and register yourself at the hotel at $94 a night. We no longer have the luxury of free beer so maybe bring a little, I’ll bring some and I believe Dale Gleave offered to bring beer even if he has to use Mule’s money. The hotel policy is no alcohol in the hospitality room but we will be on a don’t know, don’t tell basis. Discretion is of utmost importance.

Our Saturday night dinner will be at our hotel. The dinner is not formal. I have asked Roger Bacon to say a few words about his time as CO of Flasher, he was my last CO.

Friday Morning we will hold our Flasher Association meeting in the hospitality room. We will be voting on association officers and the 2012 Reunion site. This cycle we will be in the Midwest and in 2014 we will be back on the east coast then back to the west coast in 2016. To facilitate voting I am offering three sites for 2012. Look these up to prepare to vote.

Branson, Missouri, very reunion friendly and now have an airport
St. Louis Missouri, Lots to do and see “Gateway to the West”
Dupage County, Illinois, close to Chicago Illinois, variety of things to do and see.

If any one has any raffle items to donate they are always appreciated. We use the raffle money to maintain our association funds for stamps, pizzas, raffle items, etc. Raffle items can be anything and not just Flasher or Navy items. Bring them to the reunion or send them to me.

If there are any questions do not hesitate to write, call or e-mail me. I am anxious once again to see old friends and meet new ones. If you are in contact with any Flasher sailors regardless of what years share this information with them and send me their contact info.

COB Larry Weinfurter AKA Hot Dog has Flasher ball caps for $12.

Ken Tupman (Soul Pig) Flasher 1969-1973 EM1 (SS)

1516 Sun Ridge Dr.

Bourbonnais, IL 60914

Home Phone: 815 936 9318

Cell Phone: 815 383 7897

Tuppy613@aol.com

USS Flasher SSN 613 Reunion

Proposed Activities