US Navy Rolls Out a Submarine Built With Women in Mind

The United States Navy has been in the business of submarines for a long time, but it was only in 2010 that it decided to let women aboard. Cue 2024, and we have the first sub specifically designed with female submariners in mind. It's the USS New Jersey, reports CBS News, and it's not your grandmother's boat: Commissioned in September, the New Jersey can carry a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles and 24 torpedoes, and is the "most advanced fast attack submarine" in the Navy fleet, per CBS. It can dive to more than 800 feet and pull 25 knots. A look around:

• The main differences: Per Stripes, the New Jersey has more sleeping and bathing areas (and more doors for better separation), steps to three-high bunk beds, and lowered and easier-to-turn overhead valves.

• The crew: "I have about 40 women on board, which, there's no other fast attack submarine with that volume of women part of the crew," says commanding officer Steven Halle. The total crew is about 135. He adds: "Studies have shown that a fully integrated diverse crew, they just perform better. Up to 15% or 20% better."
• How that stacks up: The Navy has seen the number of females on submarines double, and even triple, in recent years, per Stripes.
• Halle is a fan: "I've learned things from the ladies on the ship," Halle says. "I think they've taught me most, to have grace and compassion. Their talent and their professionalism is matched to the rest of the crew."
• From the Navy: "I think anyone who doesn't agree women should be in the submarine force has to ask themselves why they would think about that," says Lt. Victoria Meyer, the Navy's Women in Submarines coordinator. "Is it because they have a notion that women are not capable? That is not true. Is it a notion that men can't conduct themselves around women? Because that is not true. I think it's an archaic way of thinking."

(More Navy stories.)