Women on submarines as soon as next week...sorry not a fan

[bmcgilvray]

Don't mean to drift off subject but, have any of you been through the Soviet era sub, B-39 at San Diego? What a primitive hunk a' junk it is. It was said to have been launched in 1967 but was a firetrap deluxe in this landlubber's mind. They made much use of plywood and wood paneling in the interior. Cabinetry, bunks, and galley areas were all built of, or over-laid with wood. I've been through the USS Drum at Mobile and it gave a better, more substantial impression though it was a World War II sub. Of course I don't claim to know what I'm looking at so it may have been an efficient and effective boat. It still looked like a firetrap. Here's some crummy photos taken. I tried to do without the flash that day and the camera grumbled about it.


Our youngest son in front of the conning tower.



A handy reference posted at the entrance to the sub.


Women on submarines? It can be done. My wife's petite and could maneuver in the confined spaces and between compartments and decks than I could as a 6'3" galoot.


My father was along for the trip and had a grand time crawling through the sub. He was in the Navy on a Patrol Craft Escort in 1944-1945. My mother would have had a stroke if she'd known he was going up and down the ladders and crawling through the water tight openings in the bulkheads. He's in good health and really enjoyed himself. We'd already done the Midway that day.



A photograph taken through the periscope which was aimed at the USS Midway moored across the harbor. How often could this same periscope been trained on the same air craft carrier during the Cold War?


Had to use the flash to effectively take the interior of a torpedo tube.




Interior shots. Check out the galley, all covered in wood and upholstery, along with that heater on the floor. Looks pretty lame to me.


Officer's quarters. Two bunks per cabin. There's one of those dodgy heaters again.


Just had to have a shot of me giving the "throne" a test drive.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Doodle]

Wish I had taken more pictures when I was in. Heres a link to a really cool virtual tour of the Springfield wich is slightly newer than my boat but otherwise gennerally identical other than seat cover color and what not. NOVA Online | Submarines, Secrets, and Spies | Springfield Control Room[/url] You can click on different regions of the cutaway hull to see different parts of the ship...hopefully this gives an idea of just how cramped we're talking. Also just remember evertime this class of boat goes underway the junior third of the crew hot rack. This means 3 guys from 3 seperate watch-sections share 2 racks. At least when you get off watch 1 of those guys just went on so you will always have a rack to get into...and it might still be warm...eww.
Oh and the torpedos in the torpedo room in the tour ARE actual MK 48 ADCAP warshots (I know because green with the yellow band means warhead on board, the exercise ones are solid internatinoal orange)

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/subsecrets/spritorhi.html

Edit: wish it showed the engine room because honestly thats where all the cool stuff is but alas...classified.

[Magnum]

Women should be allowed in every military combat situation, after all, they are the dirtiest fighters in the world.

[SpencerB]

Women generally don't bring a lot to the table in most professions.

Wow man just wow

[gigamortis]

I'm with Sixto on giving them their own boat. On the boomers they can be the alternate crew. That way, the showers, toilets, and bunks wouldn't have to be retrofitted if all the same gender is on the same boat.

[bmcgilvray]

You know, if the sexes are truly equal then an all-female boat would be just as effective as an all-male boat, given equivalent training.

[GrandBob]

Women on subs.

Sheesh. Whats next? Women Navy SEALS ?

It looks to me like the kooks are staging a complete takeover of society as we know it.

Its about over people.

[bmcgilvray]

If, on the other hand, an all-female boat cannot be just as effectively fought to a successful conclusion with an enemy or else kept just as viable, habitable, and safe under any and all potential emergency situations then we're making an enormous concession to plug females into jobs best handled by males. A concession we might not be able to afford. A concession that is needless except for the expediency of accommodating political correctness and societal change. Is it worth the potential sacrifice? The sacrifice of a boat? The sacrifice of a nation because the boat (or boats) didn't accomplish it's task of repelling an invasion? At what point does "equality" need to take a back seat to national defense?

Just asking.

[Eaglebeak]

You know, if the sexes are truly equal then an all-female boat would be just as effective as an all-male boat, given equivalent training.

Perhaps the all-female boat would be even more effective (or at least more highly respected) when the majority of the crew's biological clocks were in alignment. You'd have a boat armed with nuke weapons and piloted by a highly trained, highly proficient, expert crew that was in a really really really bad mood

[bmcgilvray]

Big fun, that web site, Doodle!

[Doodle]

Won't work...qualification process is passed down knowledge. Every good submariner is a good submariner because of the awesome submariner he learned from.

My reply from the first time someone broughtup an all female...won't work someone has to be there to pass down the knowledge during the qualification process. You don't want that happening simultaniously with the entire crew anyway...this is meant to happen gradually so that at any given time there are old salts with knowledge to balance out the newbies.

[paullie]

i assume that with 8 pages of commets, there are some conflicting opinions, my thoughts are that the ladies can do whatever the guys do, AS LONG AS, they meet the same requierments as the boys do and don't need any extra accomodations. i'm not a military guy but i've worked jobs that the gals make the same $$ as the boys but some things that require alot of strength the girls tend to get out of doing and I say that is a crock of poo, and if your menstal cycle is effecting your work then take a sick day or don't expect me to pick up YOUR slack

[Deuce130]

Women on subs.

Sheesh. Whats next? Women Navy SEALS ?

It looks to me like the kooks are staging a complete takeover of society as we know it.

Its about over people.

Yep.

Female Navy SEALs? Special Operations Commander 'Ready to Go Down That Road' - ABC News

[Bark'n]

Yep.

Female Navy SEALs? Special Operations Commander 'Ready to Go Down That Road' - ABC News

I heard there were a lot of liberals starting to populate the upper echelon ranks of the SEAL community in the last 15 years. SEAL's in name only, who graduated to a desk at the Pentagon at their earliest opportunity by screwing over operators.

All I can do is shake my head in disbelief at what was said in that article.

[goldshellback]

Lemme add another nugget to this thread....... particularly to us daddys with daughters.

Would you support your lil' girl signing up for the submarine service?



My 18yo daughter has talked about enlisting before. She's pretty much abandonded that on her own accord, but being on sub 'when' women entered the ranks came up once or twice.

I told her I'd support it BUT that decision would be ultimately yours. You'd be a NUB (New Underway Buddy.....non-qual) and treated as such. I gave her the whole picture as best as she could listen and pay attention.

Given what I know now I'd point her in another direction not because I do or don't want her on Subs..... the oppotunities to learn/do more lie somewhere else given her distant-future plans and what she 'says' she wants to do 'later on'.



What say ya'll on that?