Tuesday, June 23, 2015

First enlisted women to serve on U.S. submarines announced

U.S. Navy, By Rear Admiral Chas Richard, Commander, Submarine Group Ten; Enlisted Women in Submarines Task Force Commander/navylive.dodlive.mil
22 June 2015


History continues to be made in the submarine force as the first enlisted female Sailors to serve on submarines have been selected.  NAVADMIN 142/15 lists the 38 Chiefs and Petty Officers selected to report onboard the Ohio-class guided-missile submarine USS Michigan (SSGN 727) in Bangor, Wash. after completion of requisite training needed to convert into their submarine ratings.
We received an overwhelming response from women currently serving across the fleet in a variety of concentration areas, from the surface fleet, to our aviation community, to Seabees, to Sailors in the Fleet Reserve.  Thank you once again to every Sailor who applied, and to the commands that supported their Sailors’ interest in exploring the chance to become one of the first enlisted women to serve on a submarine.
It wasn’t easy to select from the large number of highly skilled and talented women who applied to fill a fixed number of billets, as every single one of the Sailors who applied were the best of the best at what they have done during their naval careers.
For the Sailors who applied but were not selected for this round of enlisted female submariners, I first want to thank you for your courage, initiative and interest to apply for the opportunity to join the submarine community.  Secondly, I want to encourage you to keep charging hard, as you are all hard-chargers for even considering this new, ground-breaking experience.  There will be future iterations of enlisted female submariner selections made, so stay tuned for the announcement of the next application window planned for July of 2015.
Additionally, your submitted application will automatically be considered for the next cohort, unless you request to withdraw the application, but I urge you to keep your application in the mix, as you are part of the talent pool we want in the submarine force.   You will also have the opportunity to update your application.
Now that the selectees have been identified, they will need to complete their medical screenings as soon as possible, after which they will receive orders for their tailored training pipeline, ultimately reporting to USS Michigan (SSGN 727), home ported in Bangor, Washington.
As the Commander for the Enlisted Women in Submarines Task Force, I want to welcome the selected Sailors to our community, and take the time to congratulate you on this momentous accomplishment.  I look forward to serving with you, shipmates!

No comments: