Female Sailors

[jimmyj]

Hi:
Recently viewed a couple of modern day Navy adventure films.
Wondering if having Female Sailors serving aboard Navy Ships is causing problems ?
I only served aboard small patrol crafts and land stations and the only Female Personnel served in shore office administration.

(*** if this post is a "No-No" I will stun slap myself several times to save the administrators' hands)

 

[Maximumbob54]

It wasn't a problem when I was still active duty. It may sound negative but I always thought women could be just as big of a pain as the men. And we could be pretty brilliant or stupid. So women around was little difference.

 

[JJEH]

This might give you an idea:

http://sapr.mil/public/docs/reports/FY14_Annual/FY14_Annual_Report_Enclosure_2_Navy.pdf

Source:
SAPRO Reports

 

[OLDNAVYMCPO]

I first starting seeing female sailors in the Seabees, IIRC about 1993 in something other than an admin capacity. In Naval Mobile Construction Battalions, the Bees get a heavy dose of infantry skills training. Physically taxing combat exercises in all kinds of weather and geographic environments. Construction work, as many of you are aware is dangerous, arduous, physical and dirty. At first, I had my doubts as to how women would hold up. My doubts were soon overcome by the women I served with. I found them to be self regulating, by that I mean that they very much determined which women were acceptable and which weren't. The ones who were afraid of getting dirty, complained about conditions or felt that they could get by on feminine charms alone were quickly weeded out by their fellow females. I served with some fantastic women Bees that I would have confidently shared fighting positions with. I knew they would have my back. As a senior enlisted leader, I did not tolerate sexual harassment among my troops nor any other disciplinary problems. I can only speak to women in the Seabees as that was the limit of my experience, never served with women aboard ship.

 

[vigil617]

Some people are cut out for sea duty; some aren't. Those that aren't were pretty quickly shipped ashore, in my experience (which included a couple of ships to which females were assigned.)

A sorry, undependable sailor should sail a desk, or a rack in the brig, regardless of gender.

 

[STCM(SW)]

If I get zinged, so be it.
On a 1.5" hose, it took four woman to do what three men could do for fire fighting...
Didn't have 2.5" hose on DD's or CG's.
There only on aircraft carriers...

On long cruises, lot's woman have to be transferred back from sea duty
to a shore station when they get in a family way....

Navy does not what some of this information to be public knowledge.
BTW, this is not just hearsay but personal experience and knowledge.

 

[GatorFarmer]

My wife retired from 20 years in the Navy last year.

Some women do get pregnant during sea duty, or find out that they are pregnant at sea. It is not all that common though, and the Navy keeps track of it and has detailed procedures. It is not even an automatic disqualifier for sea duty until the seventh month.

I had looked up all the stats out of curiousity over the years.

My wife spent her last eight years in the military on shore assignments with the Marine Corps, during which we had five children.

You are about as likely to get raped as a male as you are as a female in the U.S. military. Men just report it less. Probably a 3 to 4 percent chance either way, and apparently safer than college.

In the my wife is meaner than your wife category, my wife spent her last years on Parris Island. She was her commands preferred person to send to deal with the DIs, who nicknamed her "bulldog" and considered her tenacious and perhaps mean. In at least one case she somehow reduced a DI to tears.

There are rather demanding physical fitness standards for men and women in the Navy. Most civilian men would likely fail to meet even the standard for women.

 

[jlrhiner]

Back when I was in, we had what was called "sea/shore rotation". Your billet was pre-determined, such as, an EN3 (Engineman 3rd Class) sea/shore rotation would be something like 66/6, 66 months sea duty/6 months shore duty. All of the young ladies that became EN3's took up all the shore duty positions because at that time, they couldn't serve at sea. But they actively recruited them.

On the day of my discharge (10 Dec 79) I had served 3 years 5 months straight of sea duty. In order to get a shore assignment, I needed another 3 years of sea duty and 2 additional rank advancements (to EN1).

 

[eveled]

I have seen lots of women that were bigger and stronger than a lot of men. I have no doubt that women can handle themselves. People should be judged by their ability, not their sex.

With that said, I have often wondered about the logistics, of having women and men in combat together. Is there a lot of down time when on a ship in todays Navy? Seems if everybody is kept busy there would be less chance of problems.

 

[STCM(SW)]

"Is there a lot of down time when on a ship in todays Navy? Seems if everybody is kept busy there would be less chance of problems."

Yea, 18 to 22 year old sailors only think of work, drills and watches.....


Dream on.........

 

[labworm]

I like to go swimmin with

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man.

 

[hoosierone]

How in the world does a couple find a place to be intimate on a Navy ship?

 

[snake803]

How in the world does a couple find a place to be intimate on a Navy ship?

Rumor has it, it can even happen on a submarine...
JIM...........

 

[GatorFarmer]

How in the world does a couple find a place to be intimate on a Navy ship?

The keys to the exam room rent for $200 if a deployment is long enough, $50 otherwise. This was in 2006. Prices may have gone up. There are other places, but that is a popular spot.

Officers, with shared cabins featuring semi real beds, work out a code much like in college dorms as to whether the room is in use.

Lower ranks tend to look out for one another. In the Marines they call it the Lance Corporal Mafia.

However, lest anyone be shocked, in the days before women on ships sailors simply did much the same, only with each other, going way back. Example: One of the captains on Magellan s circumnavigation was hanged for having relations with a cabin boy. They hanged the cabin boy too. Winston Churchill later quipped that British Naval tradition consisted of "rum, sodomy, and the lash".

They just usually gloss over all those parts in history books.

 

[drgbike]

My daughter served in the gulf war came home with my granddaughter, men and women on the same ship. gee let me think!!!!!

 

[DWalt]

Gotta wonder what arrangements will be made for accommodations for both genders when manned space exploration starts, if ever.

 

[STCM(SW)]

Just think how big a aircraft carrier is and how many places people can go and not be seen.
There was a case of a sailor going AWOL for over two weeks while at sea on a carrier.
Only way they caught him was to have several MAA's at every chow line all the time.

 

[Brian41]

I don't know about sailors but I had two women assigned to me in mid 70s in the AF when women were first allowed in my communications field.
One was small and cute and the other a farm gal type strong as an ox. First one always seemed to use her charm to get some airman to do the work I assigned her. The other liked our power van that had bigger equipment and took manhandling. She outdid most of the guys.
They were night and day but very much like the guys that were assigned to me as all were different.
Only real problem with having women in our mobile comm group as we had to set up separate tents, latrines and showers on deployments. Seemed kind of crazy to set up a 12 man tent for a couple ladies. Often for shorter deployments they just didn't have to come along.

 

[M E Morrison]

How in the world does a couple find a place to be intimate on a Navy ship?

On a large ship, such as an aircraft carrier, there are many empty/seldom used spaces. The location of "booty central" gets around pretty fast.

 

[hoosierone]

Wow, I'm getting an education. Thinking on a ship, tons of guy and a few gals. The ladies can be pretty choosy. Or do they spread the wealth? I was on a troop ship twice and there was virtually zero chance for privacy. That was in the 60's.