Groton-based crew breaks another glass ceiling
This week I had the opportunity to set sail aboard the USS Minnesota, a Virginia-class submarine for a 24-hour voyage with its Commanding Officer and Groton-based crew. Though it has been undergoing extensive repairs for the past two years, the Minnesota has gained widespread attention for another reason: its crew includes some of the first female officers to ever serve on an attack submarine.
Until very recently, service aboard a submarine remained one of the few areas of military service closed to women. Finally, in 2010, the U.S. Navy lifted the prohibition against women serving aboard submarines by allowing some female officers to join the crew of an Ohio-class SSBN, or ballistic missile submarine. The announcement was met with widespread support from nearly all sectors of the submarine community, and there are now female enlisted sailors serving along with the officers on the Ohio-class ships.
While women have been serving on SSBNs for several years, it was not until just last year when the first female officer was able to join the crew of an attack submarine. The first attack submarine to receive a female officer was the USS Minnesota, and since then the crew has taken on two additional female officers for a total of three women serving aboard.
During my trip this week, I had the pleasure of meeting these three women and it was remarkable to see how incredibly talented and passionate these officers are. They serve right alongside their male counterparts as if this is the way it has always been. My time aboard the Minnesota confirmed to me that both our submarine force and our nation are stronger thanks to the integration of women into our undersea forces.
I want to thank Commander Brian Tanaka and his entire crew for the exceptional hospitality they showed to me during my entire trip. After a two year docking period, the Minnesota only recently returned to service, and we were able to experience the sub being put through its paces as it performed various training maneuvers. I know that Commander Tanaka and his crew have been straining at the leash to get Minnesota out to sea, and I am gratified to see them once again patrolling the waters protecting our national security and our allies.
The Groton-based crew could not have been more accommodating, and it was a real pleasure to see them doing what they do best.
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