page_title: Women in the military
section_title: Women on submarines
hierarchical_section_title: Women in the military / Combat / Women on submarines
caption_attribution_description: WASHINGTON (May 28, 2012) President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama greet the U.S. Navy’s first contingent of women submariners in the Blue Room of the White House. The 24 women serve on ballistic and guided-missile submarines throughout the Navy. Also attending are Adm. Mark Ferguson, Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO), left, Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Ray Mabus and Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) Leon Panetta. (White House Photo by Pete Souza/Released) 120528-O-ZZ999-001 Join the conversation www.facebook.com/USNavy www.twitter.com/USNavy navylive.dodlive.mil
context_page_description: Women have served in the military in many different roles in various jurisdictions throughout history.
  Since 1914, in western militaries, women have served in greater numbers and more diverse roles than before. In the 1970s, most Western armies began allowing women to serve in active duty in all military branches. In 2006, eight countries conscripted women into military service. In 2013, Norway became the first NATO country to draft women, as well as the first country in the world to conscript women on the same formal terms as men. In 2017, neighboring Sweden followed suit and in 2018, the Netherlands joined this line-up.
  In 2018, only two countries conscripted women and men on the same formal conditions: Norway and Sweden. A few other countries have laws allowing for the conscription of women into their armed forces, however with some difference such as service exemptions, length of service, and more.
context_section_description: In 1985 the Royal Norwegian Navy became the first navy in the world to permit female personnel to serve in submarines. The first female submarine commander was Captain Solveig Krey aboard the first Kobben class submarine on 11 September 1995. The Danish Navy allowed women on submarines in 1988, the Swedish Navy in 1989, followed by the Royal Australian Navy in 1998, Canada in 2000 and Spain.
  On April 29, 2010, the United States Navy authorized women to serve aboard submarines. Previously, objections such as the need for separate accommodation and facilities (estimates that modifying submarines to accommodate women would cost $300,000 per bunk versus $4,000 per bunk on aircraft carriers) had prevented the change. The Navy stated that larger SSGN and SSBN submarines had more available space and could accommodate female officers with little/no modification. Qualified female candidates with the desire to serve were available. (Women then represented 15 percent of active duty sailors and were earning about half of all science and engineering bachelor's degrees.)
  In May 2014, it was announced that three women had become the UK Royal Navy's first female submariners.
  On November 15, 2017, the first Argentinian female submarine officer Eliana Krawczyk, disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean after the Argentinean Navy lost contact with ARA San Juan submarine after a reported failure in the electric system. As one of the 44 crew members lost at sea, Krawczyk was honoured by the country's Jewish community as "La Reina De Los Mares" on International Women's Day in 2018.
  On 4 July 2017, after two years of training, four female officers boarded a French SSBN for France's first seventy-day mixed gender patrol. The next generation of French submarines is designed to welcome women.
  Women are expected to join submarine crews in the Royal Netherlands Navy in 2019, with the addition of shower doors and changing-room curtains.
  In 2020, Risa Takenouchi became the first female student to enroll in Japan's MSDF Submarine Training Center, following the overturning of restriction of women submariners.
caption: U.S. Navy's women submariners meet President Obama, 2012
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