US Navy introduces 'first gender-neutral submarine'

On Saturday, the USS New Jersey was commissioned into the US Navy’s Submarine Force. The Virginia-class submarine, which has a crew of nearly 135 Navy personnel, is being touted as the first "gender-neutral" submarine in the fleet. 

New Jersey’s commanding officer Cmdr. Steve Halle said during a ceremony at Naval Weapons Station Earle in Middletown, New Jersey to mark the commissioning, "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. 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," Fox News reported.  



The vessel is the first in its class to be specifically designed to fully integrate male and female sailors. Vice Adm. Robert Gaucher, commander of Submarine Force Atlantic told Stars and Stripes, "The submarine community is a fully gender-integrated warfighting force." 

Modifications to the submarine to reach this goal include additional doors and washrooms to create separate sleeping and bathing areas and lowering some overhead valves to be easier to reach and installing steps by triple-high bunk beds and stacked laundry machines.  

Gaucher said that in the past five years, the number of female officers and enlisted sailors in the submarine force has doubled and tripled, respectively. As of August, 730 women were assigned to operational submarines. This comes after the Navy ended a ban on women serving aboard submarines. 

"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 said.