August 12, 2012
Mr. Fellman,
Thank you for your article in Navy Times Prime of July 16, 2012 entitled “COB’s affair with mid put crew in the middle”.
For reference: http://www.navytimes.com/prime/2012/07/PRIMEnavy-turley-cob-mid-hot-summer-cruise-071612/8fa2a67f9214c7994dfd823174014787
I am a retired submariner opposed to the policy change that allowed women to serve as crew members on board US submarines. I participated quite extensively in the controversial discussion leading up to this change and learned much about the issue.
I have one major issue with the article. You wrote:
“From the moment Navy leaders first announced in 2009 that women would be assigned to subs, the most strident opponents of the initiative have been submariners’ wives.”
That statement is inaccurate. Wives have not been the most ‘strident’ opponents of this policy change. I conducted a survey during the controversial discussion on this issue. It currently contains over 600 comments (survey comments can be read at link given below). While some people may think it is only the wives and girlfriends that are opposed, nothing could be further from the truth. Here is a summary of the survey results:
OPPOSED TO THE ASSIGNMENT OF WOMEN TO US SUBMARINE CREWS:
Active duty: 71
Former active duty: 227
Retired: 167
Spouse: 107
Family member: 15
Concerned citizen: 17
Additionally the survey showed a widespread opposition to the policy change across paygrades as follows:
O7: 2
O6: 20
O5: 10
O4: 18
O3: 22
O2: 1
O1: 2
W4: 1
W3: 2
W2: 2
W1: 0
E9: 20
E8: 21
E7: 43
E6: 118
E5: 132
E4: 41
E3: 10
E2: 2
E1: 0
NOTE: This population distribution closely matches FY-2010 Active Duty Manpower Projections.
As you can see, comments from service members outnumber those of spouses by over 4.3 to 1. Though there are some ‘strident’ comments in the survey (comments freely viewable on my website) most are well thought out and give great insight into why the majority of people with submarine experience are opposed to mixed-gender crews.
There are valid medical, physical, and psychological concerns, none of which the navy has given any indication of having considered appropriately in decided to make this policy change. The Submarine Assignment Policy Assessment of 1995 (available at link below) contains a wealth of information that supported the navy’s decision in 1993 not to assign women to submarine crews. The issues pointed out in this report are as valid now as they were in 1995. Additionally, in deciding to make the current policy change, the navy did nothing to address the issues pointed out in the policy assessment, nor the concerns pointed out in several other documents.
It is my firm opinion, and that of many others with experience in the submarine community, that this policy change was politically motivated with little concern for the many effects, mostly negative, that the change would have on submarine mission effectiveness and operational readiness. Additionally, the navy’s inability to get a handle on the ongoing issue of fraternization only highlights the short-sightedness the navy showed in making this policy change.
I’ve collected a wealth of information on this topic. It’s available at: http://www.14olcott.net/index.php?option=com_contentHYPERLINK “http://www.14olcott.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=17&Itemid=23″&HYPERLINK “http://www.14olcott.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=17&Itemid=23″view=categoryHYPERLINK “http://www.14olcott.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=17&Itemid=23″&HYPERLINK “http://www.14olcott.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=17&Itemid=23″layout=blogHYPERLINK “http://www.14olcott.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=17&Itemid=23″&HYPERLINK “http://www.14olcott.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=17&Itemid=23″id=17HYPERLINK “http://www.14olcott.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=17&Itemid=23″&HYPERLINK “http://www.14olcott.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=17&Itemid=23″Itemid=23
I’d be more than happy to talk with you about this issue if you have an opportunity to write about it again. My phone number is (706) 743-3086.
Respectfully,
John A. Mason, ETCS(SS/SW), USN Retired
Comer, GA 30629
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