Women to serve on submarines.

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail....istory-tradition.html

Is this a step too far in the quest for equal opportunities?

/// There were concerns that higher levels of carbon dioxide in the on-board atmosphere pose particular risks to female health ///

/// The Navy argued in the past that they could be pregnant when they go to sea, putting them and their unborn child in grave danger in case of complications such as an ectopic pregnancy, or forcing a commander to return home and abandon a secret mission. ///

Surely a pregnant woman can also suffer complications, without the now unsupported risk of the high levels of carbon dioxide, what then?

There is also the problem of separating male and female privacy facilities in the cramped conditions of a submarine.

[rowanwitch]

one thing that might be a problem is put fertile females in close proximity they tend to synchronise cycles one week in four doesn't bear thinking about

[Kromovaracun]

"Yes but so is P*ki part of Pakistani, and both are offensive."

So why did you call yourself it...?

[Zeuhl]

<<They can check out the physical condition of all submariners, when they check their blood and urine samples, anyway.>>

Well done Old Git your interpretation is correct.

Glad you were finally able to understand the point several of us had been explaining to you.

<<so is P*ki part of Pakistani, and both are offensive. >>

Your analogy is flawed.

The name Pakistan is an acronym representing the P unjab, North-West Frontier Province (A fghan Province), K ashmir, S ind, and Baluchis tan and means Land of the Pure in Urdu.

The term P*** has no provenance other than as a term of abuse.

If it was the case that they had chosen the name Pakistan because it was Urdu for 'Another Bunch of P***s' then it would not be surprising if Pakistani was abbreviated to P***

In the same way, you chose to style yourself as Old Git (for reasons best known to yourself) with the qualifier that you were 'anothe(r) one' presumably because there was already an 'oldgit' on the site.

Therefore, it is hardly surprising to find it abbreviated to its main part Old Git just as jackthehat is often abbreviated to Jack or rov1100 to Rov.

[EDDIE51]

rowanwitch has put the point I was about to make, I would hate to be on board when all the females got PMT at the same time.

[joko]

rov, well obviously... but surely they could use the pill? condoms? coil? etc etc - there are lots of things can be done to prevent that being an issue...

[joko]

i would also add that if the highly trained personnel who are there to do a job, cannot manage to control themselves then they should not be on board anyway

[wolf63]

I admit that I have not read all the posts but I don't understand why anyone (male or female) would actually want to work in a submarine. There is no personal space and I would think that the toilets and showers were pretty basic.

Eddie has actually made a good point - when women live together in close proximity their menstrual cycles tend to slowly synchronise and this could result in them all having a bad dose of PMS at the same time.

I am all for women being able to do any job that they are fully able to do - even fighting on the front line - but submarines are just too scarey.

[andy-hughes]

Returning to the thread (now there's a novelty!) it mustbe obvious that any individuals signed up for this type of task - close confinement of differing genders - will be considered sufficiently mature and professional not to have an attack of the vapours at the sight of the opposing gender's genital area once in a while, and without resorting to stereotypical rutting and tantrums?

These are professional people doing a job - it is hardly likely that any WI grannies or 'superlands' are going to be deemed suitable to serve is it?

As for the worry about pregnancy complications, as advised, health issues are health issues anywhere in the armed forces, I do believe they carry people called 'doctors' on board these days - shows how much things have moved on doesn't it?