Ensign Megan Bittner had her photo taken at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor in Washington.
The Navy announced in 2009 it would open submarine officer billets to women. Megan Bittner of Chesapeake serves on the guided missile submarine Ohio. Women serve on ballistic missile and guided missile subs but not the smaller, fast-attack submarines.
It's been a big year for Megan Bittner. The 24-year-old Navy ensign from Chesapeake finished six months of grueling nuclear prototype training in South Carolina, completed the basic course for submarine officers in Connecticut, drove across the country to check in at Kitsap Naval Base in Washington, then flew to Guam and reported aboard the guided missile submarine Ohio.
The biggest challenge was still to come: her first deployment, and the Ohio's first cruise with female officers aboard.
A 2006 graduate of Hickory High School, Bittner is one of the first 24 women to serve on submarines, positions previously open only to men. Women currently serve on ballistic missile and guided missile submarines, not the smaller, fast-attack submarines based in Norfolk.
"There were really no hiccups. It was a smooth transition," Bittner said in a phone interview, describing her first few days under way on the Ohio. "I would say the hardest part of going on deployment was the workload, and that's the same for anybody coming on board."
On Monday, Bittner and her fellow trailblazers enjoyed a brief respite from their duties when President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hosted the group at the White House for a Memorial Day celebration.
The daughter of a retired Navy commander and sister of a Navy officer, Bittner was a chemical engineering major and Navy ROTC student at N.C. State when the Navy announced in 2009 it would open submarine officer billets to women.
Selection meant embarking on a rigorous 18-month training pipeline, including six months of nuclear power school followed by six months of working 12-hour days, six days a week in the engine room of a prototypical nuclear reactor.
Bittner is one of three female officers on the gold crew of the Ohio; two alternating crews are assigned to ballistic and guided missile submarines. She serves as the boat's electrical assistant, in charge of a dozen enlisted electricians.
The crew of about 160 sailors includes 18 officers.
Bittner and two roommates shared a standard three-bed officer stateroom, but they didn't see much of one another because each worked a different shift. The nearby "head" was used by men and women, just not at the same time.
One of Bittner's roommates, Lt. j.g. Britta Christianson, said integrating on the Ohio wasn't a big deal. She was one of two female aviators assigned to a Norfolk-based E-2C Hawkeye squadron, then was part of a small group of women aboard a destroyer.
"At first, the guys were a little more timid just because they hadn't worked with females on a day-to-day basis," Christianson said, "but after a week, they warmed up, and we were just like brothers and sisters fighting for the bathroom."
Bittner said she studied hard while at sea, chipping away at the requirements she needs to earn her dolphins and become a qualified submariner. But she made it a priority to learn from the men she supervised, too.
"You can study and read and have a million things memorized, but when it comes down to it, you need the perspective and knowledge of the experienced sailors," she said.
She felt like she earned high praise from one of them, who told his family that having women aboard wasn't "a really big deal" - it just meant he had a new boss.
During her first deployment, Bittner became qualified to stand watch in the engine room. She began training as "officer of the deck," a position that entails supervising all of a vessel's maneuvers. During the Ohio's return to Pearl Harbor in February, Bittner was positioned atop the submarine's bridge, issuing maneuvering orders, overseeing the lines that moored the ship, and feeling wind and sun on her skin for the first time in months.
"It was a really cool experience to be able to be the one to give the orders and have the boat tie up," Bittner said. "And it was really cool to cross the brow and be on land and know you helped with the whole process."
In a conference call with reporters last week, Vice Adm. John Richardson, commander of the Navy's submarine force, said 20 more women are in the training pipeline, and Navy leaders are considering opening more submarine billets to women, both in the enlisted ranks and aboard fast-attack submarines.
"Integrated teams are coming back from their first six months at sea, and we want to make sure that we learn everything we can before expanding," Richardson said. "We take great pride in the program that we have right now."
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