The US Navy’s first female submariners have earned their “dolphins
In ceremonies on both coasts
Wednesday, three female officers were pinned with their submarine warfare
insignia, the gold chest device that confers their status as fully qualified
submarine officers. After a rigorous process that consumed a year of training
followed by a year at sea, their achievement signals that the silent service’s
glass ceiling has been shattered.
“Qualifying is a huge accomplishment for any
submariner, and it feels no different for me,” recipient Lt. j.g. Marquette
Leveque said Wednesday, according to a Navy newsstand story. “I am thrilled to
finally be a member of this elite community.”
The women are members of the
cadre of 17 officers who began the sub force’s integration late last year.
Master Chief Rusty Staub, assigned to Submarine Group 9
Command, congratulates Lt. j.g. Amber Cowan, assigned to the Blue crew of the
ballistic missile submarine USS Maine, for earning her submarine warfare
officer device Dec. 5 in Bangor, Wash. Cowan and Lt. j.g. Jennifer Noonan,
center, are two of three sailors to become the first female unrestricted line
officers to qualify in submarines.
Each of the three recipients has
completed a strategic deterrent patrol in their year aboard ship, the Navy
said.
Leveque, who’s assigned to the
ballistic-missile sub Wyoming (gold crew), had her dolphins pinned at a
ceremony in Kings Bay, Ga., by her husband, Lt. j.g. Luke Leveque, himself a
dolphin-wearer assigned to the ballistic sub Maryland.
The other recipients, Lt. j.g.
Jennifer Noonan and Lt. j.g. Amber Cowan, are crew members with the
ballistic-missile sub Maine’s blue crew and received their insignia at a
ceremony in Bangor, Wash., the Maine’s home port.
Dolphins, the oldest of the
Navy’s warfare pins, are only conferred after a submarine officer has qualified
as an officer of the deck and an engineering officer of the watch, passed a
tough board and demonstrated leadership ability.
Just earning the pin is a
life-changing boost, one recipient said.
“It is a monumental mark of the
confidence my command and crew has in me,” said Cowan, whose dolphins were
pinned on by her husband, Lt. Adam Cowan, a naval flight officer. “And earning
that respect and acceptance is a feeling that I will hold with me for my entire
life.”
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