Despite constant discipline problems on UK Royal Navy (RN) subs (not necessarally involving women) on: April 8, 2011, October 3, 2017, October 9, 2017, November 2, 2020 and February 9, 2021.
The RN can look to the success of woman submariners in other navies. See some below:
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Norwegian Navy
The Norwegian Navy was the world’s first Navy to allow women in submarines, in 1985. It was/is also the first (and only?) navy to have had a female Submarine Commander, Captain Solveig Krey (below) in 1995 in KNM Kobben.
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German Navy
Aboard the small Type 212A sub Officer Asseln sleeps in the same room as the male officers - who respect her privacy and also know her boyfriend is a huge bloke from the German Special Forces.
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Australian Navy
2019 marked the 20th year of women in Australian submarines.
20 years ago, former Able Seaman Communication and Information Systems Submariner Rachel Irving became Australia's first female submariner when she was awarded her ‘Dolphins’ on 30 June 1999.
Most people serving in today's Submarine Force wouldn't remember submarines without female submariners. Over the past 20 years, women have served below the surface as officers and sailors across the spectrum of submarine employment categories.
The Australian Navy in 1998 was the first non-Scandinavian country to allow women to serve aboard their submarines.
The Australian Navy started off by focusing on gender diversity and doing things that now seem dated, but were actually quite challenging for the Navy of the day.
Former and current female submariners pose together in the junior sailor's cafe on board HMAS Sheean to celebrate the 20th anniversary of women in Australian submarines, at Fleet Base West, HMAS Stirling, Western Australia. Pete suspects the tall bald one at the back, with a beard, isn't a woman :)
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Lt. Krisandra Hardy, an Enlisted Women in Submarines (EWIS) and Lt. Marquette Leveque, an EWIS coordinator, speak to enlisted female sailors at Naval Station Mayport. (Photo courtesy US Navy via Military.com).
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Julia Bergman,
"One of First Females to Join the Silent Service: 'I'm Excited to See the Day When Women Being on Submarines is Not a Surprise to People.'
"...Female officers like [Jeanne] Van Gilder, a lieutenant commander assigned to the fast attack submarine USS Minnesota based in Groton, have served aboard submarines since 2011. Enlisted women began their training in 2015 and started reporting to submarines a year later.
Previously, the Navy had dedicated windows for female sailors to apply to convert their careers into submarine ratings. Now, new volunteers are able to apply on a continuous basis, just like men. Starting in 2021, Virginia-class attack submarines will have "gender neutral accommodations," separate chiefs' quarters and berthing for men and women.
Currently, 335 women -- 97 officers and 238 enlisted sailors -- are serving on [USN] submarines, making up about 5% of the silent service.
"We're still a small percentage. There's not that many of us, so we're kind of our own little club," Van Gilder said, adding that the integration of women aboard submarines has gone "extremely well."
When she reported to the guided missile submarine USS Florida based in Kings Bay, Ga., "I was old news," Van Gilder said. Women already had been serving on the boat for a few years. "It was the norm," she said.
She was among the first group of female officers who helped serve as mentors to the enlisted women as they reported to submarines already integrated, helping them to adjust to life in a steel tube under the water, and providing advice to senior male officers who may not have served with females before.
"I definitely feel a responsibility to prove all the naysayers wrong," Van Gilder said. "That doesn't necessarily change the way I act. I'm going to act in a professional manner and I want to do my job well for me, but I'm certainly aware of the specific spotlight on myself and other women in the Navy to prove the naysayers are wrong."
By all accounts, the transition has gone smoothly with a few exceptions. A dozen male sailors were prosecuted in 2015 for secretly videotaping female officers and trainees as they undressed on board the ballistic missile submarine USS Wyoming. And in May of last year, Navy leaders fired Capt. Gregory R. Kercher, commanding officer of Florida's "Gold Crew," for failing to fully investigate a sexually explicit list targeting female crewmembers.
Those incidents appear not to have impacted retention. An analysis by the Associated Press in 2018 found that the retention rate for female submariners was on par with that of their male counterparts -- about 26% and 27%, respectively. And numbers provided by the Navy for this article show that trend has continued.
In June 2020, Van Gilder reported to the Minnesota as the boat's engineering officer, a job that involves overseeing the maintenance and operation of the nuclear reactor on board, and leading the 50 to 60 sailors -- a little more than one-third of the crew -- who are assigned to the engineering department.
Looking ahead, she said, "I'm excited to see the day when women being on submarines is not a surprise to people.""
SEE JULIA BERGMAN'S FULL MILITARY.COM ARTICLE HERE