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Michelle Obama sponsors Navy’s first submarine with all-female crew

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  • Michelle Obama sponsors Navy’s first submarine with all-female crew

    Michelle Obama sponsors Navy’s first submarine with all-female crew
    By Carlo Munoz - 05/28/12 03:57 PM ET

    The USS Illinois, the first Navy submarine to be staffed by an all-female crew, received the support of the White House on Memorial Day.

    On Monday, First Lady Michelle Obama officially sponsored the Virginia-class submarine, which will be one of the newest nuclear-powered boats scheduled to enter the fleet by 2015, according to a White House statement.

    “It’s an honor and a privilege to serve as sponsor of the USS Illinois,” the first lady said, according to the statement. “This submarine is a tribute to the strength, courage, and determination that our Navy families exhibit every day."

    The Illinois is the second ship the First Lady has sponsored since coming to the White House. She sponsored the Coast Guard Cutter Stratton, based in Alameda, California, earlier this year, according to administration officials.

    Former First Lady Laura Bush sponsored another Virginia-class attack sub, named the USS Texas, in 2004. In 1994, then First Lady Hillary Clinton sponsored the Los Angeles-class sub USS Columbia.

    Obama's endorsement of the Illinois, particularly its all-female crew, comes as women in the military are pushing the Pentagon for a larger role in combat operations.

    The Pentagon announced in February that it was opening up 14,000 new positions, most in the Army, to women after a review of its policies on women in combat.

    But the Defense Department kept in place a ban on women serving in units below the battalion level with primary combat roles and specialties like infantry or special-operations units.

    But last Wednesday, two female soldiers filed federal suit against the Pentagon to officially end the Department's ban on women in combat.

    Command Sgt. Maj. Jane Baldwin and Col. Ellen Harding are suing to put an end to restrictions in combat positions “solely on the basis of sex.”

    The women, who are both Army reservists, say their military careers have been hampered by the ban on women in combat, and are asking the court to rule it unconstitutional for violating their equal protection rights under the Fifth Amendment.

    The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, named Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Army Secretary John McHugh as defendants, among others.

    Michelle Obama sponsors Navy
    Attached Files
    “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

  • #2
    Ummm...I'm having trouble finding the actual White House statement.

    Or an MSM source for this.

    Or news that women actually serve or will serve on SSN's.

    Or as a PAO put it:

    Hello, this is the Public Affairs Officer for Submarine Forces. The USS ILLINOIS will not have an all female crew. Today the First Lady accepted sponsorship of the USS ILLINOIS and she met with the group of female Submariners that have already reported to Submarines. This group is the first for the US Navy. Currently we have females serving on some ballistic and guided missile Submarines. The USS ILLINOIS will be a Virginia class Submarine. At this time, we do not have any females serving on SSNs. Tried to call your agency to correct, but received an answering machine.
    Last edited by TopHatter; 29 May 12,, 13:12.
    “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

    Comment


    • #3
      Its a crock...
      “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
      Mark Twain

      Comment


      • #4
        On Monday, First Lady Michelle Obama officially sponsored the Virginia-class submarine, which will be one of the newest nuclear-powered boats scheduled to enter the fleet by 2015, according to a White House statement.
        Right, like they know 3 years in advance who will be on the crew...
        Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

        Abusing Yellow is meant to be a labor of love, not something you sell to the highest bidder.

        Comment


        • #5
          I know its a crock but can you imagine the nicknames the poor ship would get stuck with.... USS Vag, Hag, Rag, Tampon, Tampoon, Lezlie, lez be friends, cat fight.....

          Comment


          • #6
            Then imagine the nickname some other ship would get if they actually sunk one.

            When was the last time US sub sunk a ship?
            No such thing as a good tax - Churchill

            To make mistakes is human. To blame someone else for your mistake, is strategic.

            Comment


            • #7
              Ehime Maru in 2001?

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Tarek Morgen View Post
                Ehime Maru in 2001?
                Not funny.

                USN SSNs haven't sunk any. But they have tracked lots of SSBNs/SSGNs/SSNs as well as "targets". They also launched a lot of SLCMs and SEALs.

                This reporter is going to find himself cut off from a lot of sources for placing such an article out there with no vetting.
                “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                Mark Twain

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Albany Rifles View Post
                  USN SSNs haven't sunk any.
                  New Carissa, by USS Bremerton, in 1999. Technically not a SINKEX.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Operation Petticoat
                    Attached Files
                    “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Obviously he/she also has no knowledge of USN ops either. The ladies have only been aboard USN subs a very very short amount of time. The closest they were allowed to serve were the sub tenders not the subs. It will be a very very long time before you ever see a headline like this to be truth.
                      Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Hunt for Red Herring........ ?

                        "Carlo Munoz is a staff writer for The Hill newspaper, covering Defense and National Security. He was most recently Deputy Editor At AOL Defense responsible Defense Department policy, budget and procurement issues, focusing on land and naval warfare. Prior to AOL Defense, Munoz worked as a Staff Writer at Defense Daily and as an Associate Editor in the defense group with Inside Washington Publishers.

                        While at AOL, Defense Daily and Inside Washington, Munoz specialized in foreign military sales, U.S./international military partnerships, amphibious operations, unmanned warfare, ISR, irregular warfare, special operations, counternarcotics, nuclear proliferation and intelligence issues at the services and DOD level."

                        Source: Carlo Munoz | LinkedIn

                        This the same fellow ?

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