This weekend, redlegmeg and I were talking about how different the roles of the various services are from one another. Although military spouses from every branch share many of the same challenges and joys of military life, even within our community there is so much diversity. One thing that redlegmeg mentioned is that she couldn't imagine what it must be like to be a submariner's wife. We've had a few attend our SpouseBUZZ LIVE events and they've mentioned the lack of communication aboard a submarine.
A timely conversation considering the announcement that the Navy is considering staffing submarines with female sailors."This is something the CNO and I have been working on since I came into office. We are moving out aggressively on this. I believe women should have every opportunity to serve at sea, and that includes aboard submarines."
Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy, September 24, 2009
CinCHouse has a poll running on this issue. As of right now, 68% of respondents think it's a bad idea to integrate women aboard submarines. At the U.S. Naval Institute blog, there's a lively discussion going on. I'm notsure how many submariner wives we have reading SpouseBUZZ, but I'd be interested in reading your thoughts.
