ANOTHER VERY BAD IDEA BUT THEN, SOME WOMEN WILL BE MACHO. OH BOY. WANNA SEE THIS
OK. No long rant as I’ve said whatever I need to on the subject. But this might be taking equality very far. How good for morale can this be?
So near yet so legally far. I guess we’ll see in time. I think however that any sex scandal will be the least of the problems with this decision.
Navy sex scandal fears as women are set to be allowed to serve in submarines
By Daily Mail Reporter
Under plans due to be implemented later this year, five women officers will be deployed with all four Vanquish-class nuclear submarines. Each vessel carries 135 crew.
‘There is concern over what might happen,’ a naval source told The Sun. ‘If there was a sex scandal it would be impossible for anyone to be taken off until the sub returned from its four-month patrol.
‘The Navy will go to great lengths to make sure that the first women are officers with impeccable credentials.’
It emerged last month that the U.S. is axing its policy barring females from serving in submarines.
Robert Gates, the Defence Secretary in Washington, announced that he intended to repeal the rule possibly within weeks.
The Ministry of Defence in London is expected to follow suit - allowing the Navy’s 3,700 women sailors from taking jobs beneath the waves.
The review was ordered by the Government following pressure from senior Labour figures eager to introduce full equal opportunities for females in the Armed Forces.
Women have served on board Royal Navy surface ships for about 20 years but they remain outlawed from submarines.
The original refusal was justified on the basis of the cramped living conditions on board and concerns over the dangers posed by fumes inside the submarine to a foetus if a woman is pregnant.
If they discovered they were pregnant after going to sea, the commander could be forced to return home and abandon a secret mission.
The Vanguard-class submarines which carry the UK’s Trident nuclear missiles typically put to sea on patrols lasting four months or more without resurfacing, while ‘hunter-killer’ submarines remain submerged for months gathering intelligence or shadowing suspect ships.
The Royal Navy’s new Astute attack submarines could easily be adapted to accommodate females, while the design of the new Trident nuclear subs will also give ‘consideration to the possibility of women serving in the future’.
The Australian, Canadian, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian navies already allow women to serve on their submarines.
If the Royal Navy allows the move, only mine-clearance diving units and the Royal Marines would be closed to women in the Armed Forces.
However, an internal review conducted by the MoD two years ago supported the current policy.
The wide-ranging review of the role of women in the military was launched last year. It is also looking at whether women should be permitted to serve in infantry units or in tank crews.
Women have operated on the front line in Iraq and Afghanistan - as medics, intelligence officers and with the artillery. The RAF also has female pilots and navigators.
on 03/09/2010 at 11:32 AM
