Navy Ships & Submarines

The documents posted below provide background information and historic context on issues related to warships and submarines in the Navy and other services.  Political pressures to increase the numbers and percentages of female sailors have affected deployability, and questions about health issues unique to women in submarines have not been answered in recent years.

2021:

CMR: Babies on Board: Should Pregnant Pilots Fight Our Wars? 

• Adm. Mike Mullen: Diversity is a Strategic Imperative
• Wyatt Olson, Military.com: Admiral Says Navy’s Goal is 25% Women in Each Ship, Squadron

In 2021, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin mandated one-day, worldwide “Stand-downs” to examine and deter expressions of extremism in the ranks:  These slides provided useful information about professional behavior, but sparked controversy because of a one-sided focus on “right-wing” domestic extremism, not radical Islamist ideologies that have inspired violence in the military and civilian worlds:

• USN: Navy Standdown Slides
• Requests for Information on retention rates and/or health issues in submarines and on Navy ships has not been made available.

2014: CMR Policy Analysis – DoD Deliberately Moving To Implement Policies Known to Harm Women

2013: Spinning the Story on Women in Land Combat - CMR (cmrlink.org) (Riverine ships)

2012: Navy Times: COB’s Affair with Mid Put Crew in the Middle

2010: Navy Ignores Warnings of Health Issues for Women on Submarines - CMR (cmrlink.org)

Navy Report Confirmed Unique Health Risks for Women on Submarines - CMR (cmrlink.org)

2001:

USN Report: The Medical Implications Of Women On Submarines : U.S. Navy. Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

May 2000: CMR Notes: Issue56 (cmrlink.org) Save the Submarines from Disingenuous DACOWITS Designs

This is the definitive study explaining women were not assigned to submarines until political pressures affected the Navy’s position on the issue:

• 1995:  SAIC: Submarine Assignment Policy Assessment
  

1993: The Navy’s Tailhook Scandal involving male aviators partying in Las Vegas at the conclusion of the Persian Gulf War disrupted operations and lowered morale in the Navy for many years.  Col. Hays Parks’ article is the definitive history of what happened at Tailhook ’91:

• Colonel W. Hays Parks, USMCR (Ret.) Tailhook: What Happened, Why & What’s to be Learned
• National Review: The Tailhook Scandals