Constantly Recycled Atmosphere Unlike Surface Ships

Elaine Donnelly, President of the Center for Military Readiness, has expressed surprise and disappointment that Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has stated that he supports the assignment of women to submarines.  "Chairman Mullen, said Donnelly, "apparently does not understand the most important reasons why women sailors do not serve on submarines.  The problem is not nuclear power, it is the air, which is constantly recycled in the undersea environment.  Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide levels in the air are safe for adults but a high-risk cause of birth defects in unborn children-particularly in the early weeks of gestation when a woman may not even know she is pregnant."

She continued, "By thoughtlessly pushing for co-ed submarines, apparently to please military and civilian feminists, Admiral Mullen has demonstrated an appalling unawareness of the health hazards involved, and a callous disregard for quality-of-life hardships that are difficult enough for sailors in the Silent Service."

"Admiral Mullen, Adm. Gary Roughead, the Chief of Naval Operations, and Navy Secretary Raymond Mabus would show far more respect for Navy women by taking the time to read the most comprehensive analysis on this subject, an SAIC Report titled "Submarine Assignment Policy Assessment."  She continued, "The report's detailed analysis explains stark differences in habitability standards between submarines and surface ships.  It also explains the dilemmas future submarine commanders would face when they must choose between an extremely dangerous mid-ocean evacuation of a pregnant sailor, which would compromise the stealth of the mission, or a decision to force the sailor to expose her unborn child to atmospheric elements (not nuclear power) that are known to cause birth defects."

Donnelly further recommended that the military and Navy's top leaders review the statement of Rear Admiral Hugh Scott, MC, USN (Ret.), a recognized expert in undersea medicine, who explained the health risks of assigning women to submarines in a letter to the House Armed Services Committee.  Among other things, Dr. Scott explained that ectopic pregnancies, which are not statistically rare, would create additional emergencies requiring immediate, extremely hazardous evacuations, sometimes in mid-ocean. 

She added, "Britain, Canada, and the American Navy do not put women on submarines primarily because of these irresolvable health risks and operational complications.  In addition, habitability standards on subs are well below minimum standards on surface ships.  Crowd them even more, in order to provide separate quarters for female officers and enlisted sailors, and morale as well as discipline would suffer."

Donnelly also noted that there is a law requiring the Navy to provide official notice to Congress before any funds are spent to gender-integrate submarines.   More information is on the CMR website, linked here.  

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written by OIFVet@USC, September 27, 2009

The environmental causes of birth defects reason alone ought to kill this harebrain idea. All of the other issues of sexual infidelity and combat status and having a two tiered system of proficiency for submariners aside, the possibility of a "Submarine Syndrome" screening program for female veterans at every VA Medical Center will throw an already skeptical American public fully in favor of scraping this stupid idea.

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MD, CAPTAIN, MC, USN RET.
written by GHA, September 29, 2009

This is political correctness run amok. As a retired naval officer qualified in undersea and submarine medicine and a practicing anesthesiologist who has seen more than a few at sea evacuations, this is nonsense. Even discounting the potential for birth defects, the very real potential of having to deal with an ectopic pregnancy aboard a submarine is very real. Ectopic pregnancies are a true emergency with little room for delay in treatment. Even in major, well equipped hospitals, I have seen a number of women attempt to die of hemorrage while the surgeon and I raced them to an open and available operating room, pumping blood as we attempted to stem the tide. It will take the death of a few women at sea for the navy to wake up to reality.

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