Women are sticking with US submarines at same rate as men
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — When the U.S. Navy sought the first female sailors to serve on submarines, Suraya Mattocks raised her hand because she thought it would be a cool job, not because she wanted to blaze a trail. She did anyway.
It has been eight years since the Navy lifted its ban on women in submarines. The chaos and disruption some predicted largely haven’t materialized. Women like Mattocks are focused on doing their jobs well. Their retention rates are on par with those of men — much higher than the Navy had anticipated, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.
And they want to be seen simply as “submariners,” not “female submariners.”
“That’ll be a great day when it’s not so new that everyone wants to talk about it,” Mattocks told the AP in a rare interview. “Females on my crew, they really and truly just want to be seen as submariners. That’s it.”