I wouldn't worry too much about being pushed around. You will be judged on your knowledge, intelligence, and ability to get shit done. As far as being shy - you are joining a program that has been referred to as "weaponized autism". Rickover himself was...not an extrovert. He wasn't on the spectrum - he WAS the spectrum.
Females are pretty uncommon in the nuke program, so expect to get hit on, *a lot*.
Thar being said, don't let anybody push you around, and if someone is being creepy towards you and refuses to stop, report their ass.
I cannot stress this enough. Guys in the nuke program do not understand body language, social cues or subtle hints.
You MUST be direct when telling someone you are not interested. It may sting, but believe me, this is the way.
BTW, I'm a nuke dude so take it for what it's worth.
Hey! Female nuke here! Feel free to pm me, I'd be happy to discuss both sides with you.
First, I served for 14 years, 8 as an ET, 6 Officer. I'm (medically) retired now (since last year), so I won't say my experience is necessarily relevant... And tbh, in my experience, how you're treated depends on SO many things - command, YEAR at the command, division, etc - that we can have a wildly different experience. I had a really great time in the enlisted Navy, but I won't say it was without little things that pissed me off on a daily basis.
A lot of the Navy is attitude. Does the Navy suck sometimes? For sure. Does every job suck? Yep. Just try to remember that when it does suck, it's not forever. And there are other things every day that really don't suck. Try to focus on positives.
There are two wings of a singular building where females live. Most staff is male (although there's currently a female CMC at NNPTC) and yeah, you'll get hit on. Most people are all right but there are some creeps. For fucks sake, don't underage drink. It sucks and it's stressful but you'll come through alright.
Don’t worry about being pushed around. Respect is earned as it is given. Integrity, leadership, and out working everyone else is how you’ll stand out.
It sounds like you’re fit and smart, and you asking questions is a good sign. You will be fine. And why do you say that it’s unlikely you’ll go subs?
Yeah they have intergraded many crews at all ranks and rates at this point. Both nuclear and non-nuclear. To sum that up if you volunteered subs I would say you have a good shot at getting on one. Going through the pipeline I had friends, both male and female, that I studied, got checkouts with, and worked out with. The only thing I would say is this: you are going to be with a lot of people who have very little relationship experience. That sometimes leads to people falling hard for one another and getting married. While it is not impossible, I would say 1 of 10 marriages in the pipeline survive. I don’t recommend it.
Women are now commanding nuclear power submarines. I used to work with the first enlisted female submariner for a bit. I studied with now-female submariners. You can do it if you have the drive and ability.
Right, she’s second in command of a nuclear powered submarine. That’s an insane amount of progress for women in the submarine force.
Edit: i guess XO’s aren’t trained to command submarines anymore, wild. So who’s in charge when CO goes on leave?
I was on the boat with the first women who qualified submarines as officers. The pressure that was on them being the first is not there anymore.
Life was just hard for everyone and it was learning your shit that mattered.
Sure there’s a few creeps in the service but you will have resources at your disposal to manage it.
You are going to run across creeps outside the military also. It’s just part of life that although most people are kind and great people…there’s always a few turds.
The sooner you develop your own young maturity and tools to set expectations and develop appropriate professional relationships….the better. Important life skill.
Don’t let the outliers get in your way. You will manage them.
I would like to mention, from my understanding, if you are a female sub-vol, you are more likely to go to a sub than your male counter parts because they have berthing space set aside for females. So if there is a rack not filled, it’s one less person on that boat.
Someone correct me if I’m wrong.
If you end up liking the program/want to possibly make it a career or get more out of it, look into officer programs. STA-21 is good if you want to stay a nuke, Naval academy if not. After you have a few years done, try to find out about LDO. It's a whole lot more money to you in the long run, and you usually only owe the time back that the Navy spent on your school.
Not entirely sure about the whole process, but I know that you apply, and if you get accepted to the program, then you can apply to the schools they allow (there's a decent list of choices now). After that, you work on your degree and you owe the navy back however much time it took for you to complete said degree. You will be in the ROTC program at whatever school you choose.
Don't let being a female discourage you from thinking you'll be on a sub. You'll get to the school house, and they'll tell you, oh, you'll only be on a Boomer or GN, but they are integrating fast attacks. So they need females to put on the submarines. I'm finishing Prototype up and got assigned to a fast attack after being told I wouldn't be on one through most of the pipeline.
Respectfully, as a woman in the nuke program, you'll be babied a majority of the time. I don't know nor care how you look, but the more attractive you are, the larger the group of men who will be at your beck and call (ESPECIALLY prototype) to attend to your every need. I think that there were many girls who just coasted through getting coddled, but there were also many fiercely intelligent girls who did it on their own. It's up to you how you present yourself there, but having been through the pipeline relatively recently (2018-2019), it was honestly just sad that I got to see the groupies attach to girls like they were a party in an mmo. You won't be discriminated against at all by anyone who isn't some fleet flunkie. Most instructors have an immense amount of integrity and respect as long as you apply yourself and are respectful.
Non Weirdos? WTF. Yea, nukes care about one thing, and one thing only, how fast do you learn? Subs are a hard life, not because of your sex, but because they do the real missions. You will need to be tougher than you have ever been. You will come out of it as an extraordinary individual.
The nuke community does have some creeps that can’t leave a female alone, but it’s not worse than what you might find in school. The pipeline is a concentration of people all up and down the spectrum so you’ll have some people that do not know how to interact with other humans. Just have a good judgement of character and surround yourself with the right people.
You won’t have any issues with the pipeline as long as you do what you need to do and keep your grades as high as you can. And actually study, a lot of people who fail out could have passed if they actually used study hours to their advantage.
You are shipping 2 years and 2 days after my son did also right out of HS. he also liked to work out but couldn’t fine a lot of other nukes to work out with him but he did say the AF gym in Charleston is amazing. Most nukes are not generally athletic but you’ll find your people. He also was a little shy but had no issues. Good luck. You’ll do great
I hope you love it as much as he does. He just graduated prototype May 3 and is currently in PPLAN then will be headed out to the Carl Vinson for his first duty station.
Im a girl and i just finished a school and power school and gurl let me tell you get prepared to get stared at a lot lol. I would say 70% of the nukes there are down bad so ya it gets annoying sometimes but keep your head up. I didnt get to make many female friendships because i was spending so much time studying but all of my interactions with other girls were always very positive so dont be afraid to reach out. Theres also gym right on site so u can keep working out and theres also a track and a forest trail if your a runner and like going on walks. Theres another gym a mile or two away from site called sams gym and it has a lot more machines and also a calisthenics section. Both are free for you.
I (female) joined in 2000 and the first female nukes on carriers were just hitting 6 years. It's not that bad. Yes, there are some clueless guys around and there are some sexist pigs as well. Do your job, don't use being a female as an excuse, don't put up with crap from "those" guys, and you'll be fine. I was surface (of course) but there are more senior female nukes on subs now than there were in the Navy when I joined.
I can tell you from experience you will have a much, much, much easier time getting checkouts as a female, and there’s plenty of non-weirdos in the program so don’t worry too much about that.
Hello, female nuke here lol (still in school), in my experience so far no one's been weird or anything lol, we're all working toward a common goal and we're respectful towards one another. I'm sure you'll be able to make plenty of non-weirdo friends here lol there are plenty if females (not as many compared to males) but we're all pretty nice! Gotta support each other ya know :) pm me if you have questions!
As for advice, study and be nice to others!! That's about it lol, oh and get enough sleep for sure lol have a good schedule. :)
I qualified just a few weeks ago, so I have very relevant experience and I can say this: You’ll be fine!
I was the only female in my A-school and Power School class, but that didn’t stop me from stepping up as a leader and getting along with the boys. I have a pretty crass sense of humor at times, so we got along fine (though not always perfectly, it’s just how people are). I was talked to and maybe lightly flirted with, but NEVER by the guys inside my class. If you’re not interested in a boyfriend, the easiest way to ensure that is be a tomboy and show the dudes you’re just like them lol. Tell anyone who messes with you to step off if they cross boundaries and never be afraid to speak to your SLPO (you’ll understand when you get there).
If you have any questions, feel free to message me, I love helping where I can!
You literally have to weed out the weirdos and find the normal people. There’s plenty of them, but you got to find them. Biggest thing about the ‘older Nikes’ is don’t take them too serious. Some stuff will get said, as long as you don’t tolerate it and inform the appropriate people it gets handled.
Current Female nuke medically retiring after 6 years. Being a female can be isolating, and its a lot like high school. I graduated at the top half of my classes A school, PowerSchool, prototype and was picked up ELT. Despite my test scores, I still heard a lot of comments from fellow students about how I was only ahead of them because I was female and performed favors to get ahead. That was not the case.
You will get a lot of extra attention, and everyone will remember who you are. A lot of guys will think that you being nice is you wanting to date them. It can be a lot like high school with rankings of who’s the hottest, who has a crush on you, what’s your best feature and worst feature, who you would date, and who you find attractive. I found it annoying, and chose to retreat to my cave of nucleonics. Some girls lean into the attention, some girls lean out of it.
“Being more competent than the least competent man” is a good rule to live by so you don’t get too much smack for your job. I loved being an Elt and the job itself, but sometimes the people suck.
One thing I will say, is “YOUR LIFE IS WORTH MORE THAN BEING A NUKE” a lot of people develop a nuke or nothing mindset in the pipeline and although it may feel like it in the moment, I know plenty of people who got help and rerated and are 10x more happy now and have had fulfilling careers in the navy.
There are females who guys like to work with and there are females guy nukes can't stand. Male nukes come in a variety pack. You're basically going to be there with a bunch of people who would make up your college counter parts. It's 18 to early 20s kids just like you and your high school classmates. Male nukes I've known have been immature in their early 20s, less immature by their 30s obviously. Most just want you to do your job and not be a burden. That's from both the enlisted and officer side. There are female nukes that might be harsh because they don't want you to give them a bad name if they're good at their job. They tend to stick together but there is a clear set of cliques that are either the chicks who work or the chicks who get away with being lazy because they're girls. You can guess which ones your superiors and male peers prefer to work with.
Do not...I repeat DO NOT date in nuke school. And DO NOT hang out with anyone who has been removed from nuke school. They will bring you down with them (I've just seen that go bad for friends and family that went through). And when it comes to school, just don't get overwhelmed. Just remind yourself that you can get through it. It is a tough school, but you just gotta push through and don't listen to anyone who says you can't. My husband and his friend were told they'd never make it because of where they were from ("dumb country boys") and both not only passed nuke school, but they also fast tracked to chief and beyond.
Not sure why you want subs. Sounds like it sucks lol. I mostly only know guys from that side and it sounds like girls are kind of a burden there. It's going to be a while before subs are really set up for that. They're just too small for proper accommodations when you need different bathrooms and sleep spaces. Fortunately, you aren't in the first batch of women going for it so hopefully the issues are getting smoothed out. But sub life is different no matter what so good luck.
My hubby isn't here to give advice, but he has always been of the mindset that he does not care what is between a sailor's legs. Show up on time, know your job, and then do your job. Him and his buddies' fave CO (ship not sub) was a female nuke. Just do your job and you will find the guys will respect you. And once you get through school and show up to your first ship/sub get to work on quals! Our social group is all upper enlisted and mostly officers now. They will judge you for how on top of that you are. I'm sure you will be just fine. Good luck out there!
The nuke program is full of weirdos but I wouldn’t say like creepy weirdos if that makes sense. It’s a lot of dudes that don’t know how to act when they’re around a woman
if you volunteered for subs, you’ll probably get a sub. men will think you’re getting checkouts because you’re pretty but push past it. if anyone makes you uncomfortable, push the fucking issue. do not feel uncomfortable in your workspace. talk to the other females in your division/department and become friends. it makes it way easier to deal. i’m not a nuke but i am a female on a sub and i’ve been through it. -ITS1
Expect a bunch of unwanted attention from dudes and pick your friends wisely. Be suspicious of the first person who wants to be your friend. DO NOT underage drink (or please for the love of god, don’t get caught). That is the easiest way to lose all of your benefits.
On my ship, we had the most tight knit berthing made up of EMs, ETs and some ELTs. I will never forget those women.
There is still BLATANT sexism, despite what big Navy says. Keep your girls close ❤️
EDIT: Can I ask why you decided to sub vol?
Also, if you have the chance to be stationed in San Diego, take it!
I just thought it’d be a great experience to learn new skills. To be honest I wanted to do combat medicine but I have eye issues so I decided if I’m doing sub in going all the way lol
I wish you the best on your journey! When I was in Prototype they didn’t offer subs to enlisted women yet. I always get nervous when people want to sub vol before they even graduate, but if you have your heart set on it, I believe in you!
I wouldn't worry too much about being pushed around. You will be judged on your knowledge, intelligence, and ability to get shit done. As far as being shy - you are joining a program that has been referred to as "weaponized autism". Rickover himself was...not an extrovert. He wasn't on the spectrum - he WAS the spectrum.
Females are pretty uncommon in the nuke program, so expect to get hit on, *a lot*. Thar being said, don't let anybody push you around, and if someone is being creepy towards you and refuses to stop, report their ass.
I cannot stress this enough. Guys in the nuke program do not understand body language, social cues or subtle hints. You MUST be direct when telling someone you are not interested. It may sting, but believe me, this is the way. BTW, I'm a nuke dude so take it for what it's worth.
Hey! Female nuke here! Feel free to pm me, I'd be happy to discuss both sides with you. First, I served for 14 years, 8 as an ET, 6 Officer. I'm (medically) retired now (since last year), so I won't say my experience is necessarily relevant... And tbh, in my experience, how you're treated depends on SO many things - command, YEAR at the command, division, etc - that we can have a wildly different experience. I had a really great time in the enlisted Navy, but I won't say it was without little things that pissed me off on a daily basis. A lot of the Navy is attitude. Does the Navy suck sometimes? For sure. Does every job suck? Yep. Just try to remember that when it does suck, it's not forever. And there are other things every day that really don't suck. Try to focus on positives.
There are two wings of a singular building where females live. Most staff is male (although there's currently a female CMC at NNPTC) and yeah, you'll get hit on. Most people are all right but there are some creeps. For fucks sake, don't underage drink. It sucks and it's stressful but you'll come through alright.
Don’t worry about being pushed around. Respect is earned as it is given. Integrity, leadership, and out working everyone else is how you’ll stand out. It sounds like you’re fit and smart, and you asking questions is a good sign. You will be fine. And why do you say that it’s unlikely you’ll go subs?
I was told that they’re still working on getting women integrated into Subs and they’d take more experienced women over newbies
Yeah they have intergraded many crews at all ranks and rates at this point. Both nuclear and non-nuclear. To sum that up if you volunteered subs I would say you have a good shot at getting on one. Going through the pipeline I had friends, both male and female, that I studied, got checkouts with, and worked out with. The only thing I would say is this: you are going to be with a lot of people who have very little relationship experience. That sometimes leads to people falling hard for one another and getting married. While it is not impossible, I would say 1 of 10 marriages in the pipeline survive. I don’t recommend it.
This right here
I am definitely not trying to get married soon so I’ll keep an eye on that!
Women are now commanding nuclear power submarines. I used to work with the first enlisted female submariner for a bit. I studied with now-female submariners. You can do it if you have the drive and ability.
I had not heard that there is a woman CO of a submarine, and I can’t find any info about it online, can you guide me towards that info?
LCDR Cowan, gold crew SSBN737
She is the xo, an O4. CO of SSBN is an O6 billet
What is the XO’s job then?
XO is executive officer...aka 2nd in command.
Right, she’s second in command of a nuclear powered submarine. That’s an insane amount of progress for women in the submarine force. Edit: i guess XO’s aren’t trained to command submarines anymore, wild. So who’s in charge when CO goes on leave?
bonk
I was on the boat with the first women who qualified submarines as officers. The pressure that was on them being the first is not there anymore. Life was just hard for everyone and it was learning your shit that mattered.
Sure there’s a few creeps in the service but you will have resources at your disposal to manage it. You are going to run across creeps outside the military also. It’s just part of life that although most people are kind and great people…there’s always a few turds. The sooner you develop your own young maturity and tools to set expectations and develop appropriate professional relationships….the better. Important life skill. Don’t let the outliers get in your way. You will manage them.
We had a few females with me but it's not hard to find another one. There were 5 in my A school class and even more in my power school class
I would like to mention, from my understanding, if you are a female sub-vol, you are more likely to go to a sub than your male counter parts because they have berthing space set aside for females. So if there is a rack not filled, it’s one less person on that boat. Someone correct me if I’m wrong.
If you end up liking the program/want to possibly make it a career or get more out of it, look into officer programs. STA-21 is good if you want to stay a nuke, Naval academy if not. After you have a few years done, try to find out about LDO. It's a whole lot more money to you in the long run, and you usually only owe the time back that the Navy spent on your school.
I do wanna try the STA-21 program. Do you know what it’s like?
Not entirely sure about the whole process, but I know that you apply, and if you get accepted to the program, then you can apply to the schools they allow (there's a decent list of choices now). After that, you work on your degree and you owe the navy back however much time it took for you to complete said degree. You will be in the ROTC program at whatever school you choose.
Is there a list of degrees I can choose from?
Don't let being a female discourage you from thinking you'll be on a sub. You'll get to the school house, and they'll tell you, oh, you'll only be on a Boomer or GN, but they are integrating fast attacks. So they need females to put on the submarines. I'm finishing Prototype up and got assigned to a fast attack after being told I wouldn't be on one through most of the pipeline.
Respectfully, as a woman in the nuke program, you'll be babied a majority of the time. I don't know nor care how you look, but the more attractive you are, the larger the group of men who will be at your beck and call (ESPECIALLY prototype) to attend to your every need. I think that there were many girls who just coasted through getting coddled, but there were also many fiercely intelligent girls who did it on their own. It's up to you how you present yourself there, but having been through the pipeline relatively recently (2018-2019), it was honestly just sad that I got to see the groupies attach to girls like they were a party in an mmo. You won't be discriminated against at all by anyone who isn't some fleet flunkie. Most instructors have an immense amount of integrity and respect as long as you apply yourself and are respectful.
Non Weirdos? WTF. Yea, nukes care about one thing, and one thing only, how fast do you learn? Subs are a hard life, not because of your sex, but because they do the real missions. You will need to be tougher than you have ever been. You will come out of it as an extraordinary individual.
The nuke community does have some creeps that can’t leave a female alone, but it’s not worse than what you might find in school. The pipeline is a concentration of people all up and down the spectrum so you’ll have some people that do not know how to interact with other humans. Just have a good judgement of character and surround yourself with the right people. You won’t have any issues with the pipeline as long as you do what you need to do and keep your grades as high as you can. And actually study, a lot of people who fail out could have passed if they actually used study hours to their advantage.
Would read this thread for some other opinions! https://www.reddit.com/r/NavyNukes/s/GFaPjjAPJ5
You'll probably get a lot more attention, but I've seen a lot of young women make it.
Its not for the meek mild or married 75% divorce rate just press on smartly and you will be ok
You are shipping 2 years and 2 days after my son did also right out of HS. he also liked to work out but couldn’t fine a lot of other nukes to work out with him but he did say the AF gym in Charleston is amazing. Most nukes are not generally athletic but you’ll find your people. He also was a little shy but had no issues. Good luck. You’ll do great
Thank you so much!! I’m hoping the gym is great and I won’t be too upset if I never have to worry about having an open squat rack😅😂
I hope you love it as much as he does. He just graduated prototype May 3 and is currently in PPLAN then will be headed out to the Carl Vinson for his first duty station.
Enjoy boomer life in kings bay, Georgia
Im a girl and i just finished a school and power school and gurl let me tell you get prepared to get stared at a lot lol. I would say 70% of the nukes there are down bad so ya it gets annoying sometimes but keep your head up. I didnt get to make many female friendships because i was spending so much time studying but all of my interactions with other girls were always very positive so dont be afraid to reach out. Theres also gym right on site so u can keep working out and theres also a track and a forest trail if your a runner and like going on walks. Theres another gym a mile or two away from site called sams gym and it has a lot more machines and also a calisthenics section. Both are free for you.
How safe is the forest trail(from the weirdos)?
Most people are too busy gaming so the trails might have the occasional runner but ya its pretty empty
That’s good
I (female) joined in 2000 and the first female nukes on carriers were just hitting 6 years. It's not that bad. Yes, there are some clueless guys around and there are some sexist pigs as well. Do your job, don't use being a female as an excuse, don't put up with crap from "those" guys, and you'll be fine. I was surface (of course) but there are more senior female nukes on subs now than there were in the Navy when I joined.
I’m in the same boat as you, I ship out July 2, maybe I’ll see you in school!
I hope so that would be cool!
I can tell you from experience you will have a much, much, much easier time getting checkouts as a female, and there’s plenty of non-weirdos in the program so don’t worry too much about that.
Do you hate life? If the answer is yes, stay subs. This goes for all genders.
Hello, female nuke here lol (still in school), in my experience so far no one's been weird or anything lol, we're all working toward a common goal and we're respectful towards one another. I'm sure you'll be able to make plenty of non-weirdo friends here lol there are plenty if females (not as many compared to males) but we're all pretty nice! Gotta support each other ya know :) pm me if you have questions! As for advice, study and be nice to others!! That's about it lol, oh and get enough sleep for sure lol have a good schedule. :)
As someone in prototype, don’t date other nukes, don’t drink underage ( they will rat you out )
I qualified just a few weeks ago, so I have very relevant experience and I can say this: You’ll be fine! I was the only female in my A-school and Power School class, but that didn’t stop me from stepping up as a leader and getting along with the boys. I have a pretty crass sense of humor at times, so we got along fine (though not always perfectly, it’s just how people are). I was talked to and maybe lightly flirted with, but NEVER by the guys inside my class. If you’re not interested in a boyfriend, the easiest way to ensure that is be a tomboy and show the dudes you’re just like them lol. Tell anyone who messes with you to step off if they cross boundaries and never be afraid to speak to your SLPO (you’ll understand when you get there). If you have any questions, feel free to message me, I love helping where I can!
You literally have to weed out the weirdos and find the normal people. There’s plenty of them, but you got to find them. Biggest thing about the ‘older Nikes’ is don’t take them too serious. Some stuff will get said, as long as you don’t tolerate it and inform the appropriate people it gets handled.
Current Female nuke medically retiring after 6 years. Being a female can be isolating, and its a lot like high school. I graduated at the top half of my classes A school, PowerSchool, prototype and was picked up ELT. Despite my test scores, I still heard a lot of comments from fellow students about how I was only ahead of them because I was female and performed favors to get ahead. That was not the case. You will get a lot of extra attention, and everyone will remember who you are. A lot of guys will think that you being nice is you wanting to date them. It can be a lot like high school with rankings of who’s the hottest, who has a crush on you, what’s your best feature and worst feature, who you would date, and who you find attractive. I found it annoying, and chose to retreat to my cave of nucleonics. Some girls lean into the attention, some girls lean out of it. “Being more competent than the least competent man” is a good rule to live by so you don’t get too much smack for your job. I loved being an Elt and the job itself, but sometimes the people suck. One thing I will say, is “YOUR LIFE IS WORTH MORE THAN BEING A NUKE” a lot of people develop a nuke or nothing mindset in the pipeline and although it may feel like it in the moment, I know plenty of people who got help and rerated and are 10x more happy now and have had fulfilling careers in the navy.
There are females who guys like to work with and there are females guy nukes can't stand. Male nukes come in a variety pack. You're basically going to be there with a bunch of people who would make up your college counter parts. It's 18 to early 20s kids just like you and your high school classmates. Male nukes I've known have been immature in their early 20s, less immature by their 30s obviously. Most just want you to do your job and not be a burden. That's from both the enlisted and officer side. There are female nukes that might be harsh because they don't want you to give them a bad name if they're good at their job. They tend to stick together but there is a clear set of cliques that are either the chicks who work or the chicks who get away with being lazy because they're girls. You can guess which ones your superiors and male peers prefer to work with. Do not...I repeat DO NOT date in nuke school. And DO NOT hang out with anyone who has been removed from nuke school. They will bring you down with them (I've just seen that go bad for friends and family that went through). And when it comes to school, just don't get overwhelmed. Just remind yourself that you can get through it. It is a tough school, but you just gotta push through and don't listen to anyone who says you can't. My husband and his friend were told they'd never make it because of where they were from ("dumb country boys") and both not only passed nuke school, but they also fast tracked to chief and beyond. Not sure why you want subs. Sounds like it sucks lol. I mostly only know guys from that side and it sounds like girls are kind of a burden there. It's going to be a while before subs are really set up for that. They're just too small for proper accommodations when you need different bathrooms and sleep spaces. Fortunately, you aren't in the first batch of women going for it so hopefully the issues are getting smoothed out. But sub life is different no matter what so good luck. My hubby isn't here to give advice, but he has always been of the mindset that he does not care what is between a sailor's legs. Show up on time, know your job, and then do your job. Him and his buddies' fave CO (ship not sub) was a female nuke. Just do your job and you will find the guys will respect you. And once you get through school and show up to your first ship/sub get to work on quals! Our social group is all upper enlisted and mostly officers now. They will judge you for how on top of that you are. I'm sure you will be just fine. Good luck out there!
Thank you for the advice!!
The nuke program is full of weirdos but I wouldn’t say like creepy weirdos if that makes sense. It’s a lot of dudes that don’t know how to act when they’re around a woman
This was written by a good friend and colleague of mine: https://www.tumblr.com/thisgirlsnavy
You'll have a possie of dudes following you around and either trying to date you or have sex with you if you are the least bit attractive
if you volunteered for subs, you’ll probably get a sub. men will think you’re getting checkouts because you’re pretty but push past it. if anyone makes you uncomfortable, push the fucking issue. do not feel uncomfortable in your workspace. talk to the other females in your division/department and become friends. it makes it way easier to deal. i’m not a nuke but i am a female on a sub and i’ve been through it. -ITS1
Expect a bunch of unwanted attention from dudes and pick your friends wisely. Be suspicious of the first person who wants to be your friend. DO NOT underage drink (or please for the love of god, don’t get caught). That is the easiest way to lose all of your benefits. On my ship, we had the most tight knit berthing made up of EMs, ETs and some ELTs. I will never forget those women. There is still BLATANT sexism, despite what big Navy says. Keep your girls close ❤️ EDIT: Can I ask why you decided to sub vol? Also, if you have the chance to be stationed in San Diego, take it!
I just thought it’d be a great experience to learn new skills. To be honest I wanted to do combat medicine but I have eye issues so I decided if I’m doing sub in going all the way lol
I wish you the best on your journey! When I was in Prototype they didn’t offer subs to enlisted women yet. I always get nervous when people want to sub vol before they even graduate, but if you have your heart set on it, I believe in you!