The United States Navy commissioned the USS New Jersey as the first “gender-neutral” submarine in the Navy’s Submarine Force on Saturday.
According to a U.S. Navy press release, the USS New Jersey, which has a crew of almost 135 Navy personnel, is the “first in its class designed and built with modifications for a gender-integrated crew.”
Fox News reported that the Virginia-class submarine was commissioned at Saturday’s ceremony at Naval Weapons Station Earle in Middletown, New Jersey.
During Saturday’s ceremony, Cmdr. Steve Halle, the USS New Jersey’s commanding officer, said, “You operate the most complex platform on the planet and you continuously strive for excellence. I’m amazed and humbled at what we have accomplished.”
Halle added, “Our superior professionalism is enhanced by our crew integration and our diversity. We have exceeded expectations at every turn and overcome every obstacle set before us.”
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Following the removal of the Navy’s ban on women serving on submarines in 2010, the Navy implemented changes on submarines to address concerns regarding tight living quarters and a lack of privacy on U.S. submarines, according to Fox News.
Vice Adm. Robert Gaucher, commander of Submarine Forces Atlantic, told Stars and Stripes that the number of female officers in the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Force has doubled, while the number of enlisted female sailors has tripled over the past five years.
“The submarine community is a fully gender-integrated warfighting force,” Gaucher said. “To support women serving onboard submarines, the submarine force, starting with [the Pre-Commissioning Unit] New Jersey, is building all future [nuclear-powered attack submarines] and the new Columbia-class, [ballistic-missile submarines] gender-neutral from the keel up.”
Gaucher told NorthJersey.com that the USS New Jersey was specifically designed to provide adequate accommodations for both genders, such as additional privacy in bathrooms and sleeping quarters. The commander added that the design of overhead valves and top bunks also took into consideration the strength, height, and reach of female sailors.
Gaucher also told NorthJersey.com that all future Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines and nuclear-powered attack submarines will include gender-neutral accommodations.
