Women on Subs?

Don't start with the "long and hard and full of...." jokes. The Navy really is going to allow women to serve on submarines.

The US Navy has decided to allow women to serve on submarines, Pentagon officials said, ending one of the last all-male bastions in the American military.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates approved the recommendation and sent letters to Congress on Monday informing lawmakers of the plan, officials said.
The move came as the US Army's chief of staff said it was time to revisit rules barring women from ground combat roles.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Admiral Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, had briefed Gates on changing the rules for subs and "he's endorsed it and sent it on to Congress," press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters.
Lawmakers have 30 days to comment on the move before it goes into effect, officials said.
American women can already serve on the Navy's fleet of warships anfly fighter aircraft, but nuclear-powered subs have remained off limits.
US naval officers previously cited the extremely tight quarters of a submarine as the main reason for the prohibition, but those who favor lifting the ban say subs could be outfitted with separate berths and bathrooms.
The decision calls for "a phased approach to assigning women on submarines," said a defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
One option under consideration would to first allow female officers to serve on submarines, the official told AFP.
That approach would involve less sweeping change as officers already have separate quarters from enlisted service members, the official said.
The first group of female officers selected for the duty would have to attend special training for submarines and for nuclear-powered vessels that takes more than a year, the official added.

By: Brant