Navy expects to have first female submarine commander by 2028
By Hope Hodge Seck
Dec 11, 2024, 02:07 PM
Lt. Cmdr. Amber Cowan made history in 2022 when she became the first woman to serve as an XO on a U.S. Navy submarine. Service officials now say they expect to see a woman command a submarine by 2028. (MCS Brian G. Reynolds/Navy)
Fourteen years after the Navy began integrating women into submarine crews, the population of enlisted women and officers in subs continues to grow steadily year-over-year — and the service projects it will name the first female submarine commanding officer by 2028.
That’s according to a briefing presented by Lt. Victoria Parrish, the Navy’s Women in Submarines coordinator at Submarine Force Atlantic.
For fiscal 2024, there were 87 female officer accessions and 400 enlisted accessions, she told the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services at its quarterly meeting near Washington. That represents 20.3% of officer accessions and 9.5% of enlisted. Fiscal 2024 also represented the largest jump in female enlisted accessions since integration began, rising from 271 the previous year for an increase of nearly 48%.
In all, though, 712 women are currently assigned to submarines, making up just under 5% of a total sub force of more than 15,000.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2024/12/11/navy-expects-to-have-first-female-submarine-commander-by-2028/
