Women in Nuclear group takes tour of attack sub at Port

Women get inside tour of nuclear sub: A group of women got to tour the nuclear submarine USS Missouri on Wednesday at the Naval Ordinance Test Unit at Port Canaveral.

About 45 in the Women in Nuclear group toured the USS Missouri submarine at the Trident Basin at Port Canaveral on Wednesday. The women entered the sub thru the foreward hatch.

About the group

The U.S. Women in Nuclear organization was established in May 1999 with these strategic objectives:

• Support an environment in nuclear energy and nuclear technologies in which women and men are able to succeed.
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• Provide a network through which the women and men in these fields can further their professional development.
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• Provide an organized association through which the public is informed about nuclear energy and nuclear technologies.

U.S. Women in Nuclear is the premier network of more than 5,000 women and men who work in nuclear- and radiation-related fields around the country.

PORT CANAVERAL — Women who work in the nuclear industry had a treat Wednesday as they learned about an alternative application of their field.

Offered as a side trip from the U.S. Women in Nuclear annual conference in Orlando, about 40 women who are used to working with power plants and engineering companies toured the USS Missouri — a nuclear attack submarine commissioned July 31, 2010 — while docked at the Naval Ordnance Test Unit.

Submariners explained the ship’s operations to groups of about six or eight women at a time.

“Everything is so big in scale that we do,” said Kara Lukehart, who works for URS, an engineering and construction company. “We’re so focused on our application that it’s so enlightening to see other applications.”

The women huddled in the glare of the display screens where sailors operate sonar, communications and weapons systems aboard the submarine. They also toured the galley, the torpedo room and the tight living quarters to which the submariners must get accustomed.

Lukehart said even though there are big differences in scale to power plants, the same principles apply to operating the nuclear submarine in many ways. Safety and training are guiding principles.

Jennifer Henning, a mechanical and chemical engineer who works for Enercon in Atlanta, said the tour of the submarine was a treat.

“Most of the work I do, I do at a desk,” she said. “I get to make visits to (nuclear) plants. There are a lot of similarities.”

Katie Damratoski, a communications specialist for Entergy, said the visit to NOTU ranked among the top activities for the people who attended the Women in Nuclear annual conference.

“This is awesome,” she said. “I’m fascinated. I have great respect for what (the submariners) do.”

U.S. Women in Nuclear is a network of more than 5,000 women and men who work in nuclear-related fields around the country. Members of the group toured Kennedy Space Center and the Crystal River Nuclear Plant, about 80 miles north of Tampa, in addition to the Naval Ordnance Test Unit and the USS Missouri.

Lt. Cmdr. Dave Rogers, the executive officer on the submarine, said it was a good opportunity to have the visitors on the USS Missouri.

“We’re kind of invisible most of the time,” he said. “It helps us. It’s a sense of personal satisfaction. It’s rewarding and reassuring.”

Rogers said it’s also good for the crew to come into Port Canaveral and Brevard County, where people are always so welcoming.

“We’re excited every time we get to pull into Port Canaveral,” he said. It’s one of my favorite ports on the East Coast.”

Women say they're fitting in on Navy submarines

Six months after the Navy ended its ban on having women on subs, some of the first female submariners say they're fitting right in.

Six months after the Navy ended its ban on having women on subs, some of the first female submariners say they're fitting right in.

Since reporting to their boats in November, the 25 women who broke one of the Navy's final gender barriers have gone on patrols, and all indications are that they've been accepted among their crews, The Kitsap Sun newspaper in Washington state reports ( http://is.gd/MjiFB0).

"The men adjusted to us being there, and we adjusted to them," said Lt. j.g. Megan Bittner, of the USS Ohio. "It was quick. There were no big problems. No stumbling blocks along the way. It was just learning as a junior officer how you fit on the boat."

Bittner, 24, is one of 13 women assigned to two Trident submarines based at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor - the cruise-missile-carrying Ohio and the USS Maine, armed with nuclear warheads. Another dozen are in Kings Bay, Ga., with the USS Wyoming and USS Georgia.

"It is important we are talking about our experience, not so much to say look at us but to show this is not the big ordeal some people thought it was, that it hasn't been the mistake some people projected it to be," Bittner said.

The women graduated from the Naval Academy or ROTC programs in spring 2010, then spent six months in Nuclear Power School in Charleston, S.C.; six months at the Nuclear Power Training Unit, also in Charleston; and nine weeks at Submarine Officer Basic Course in Groton, Conn.

Lt. j.g. Amber Cowan, a main propulsion assistant, met the USS Maine in the Strait of Juan de Fuca a week after she arrived at Bangor.

"It's definitely a different kind of atmosphere," said Cowan, a University of Washington graduate from Colorado Springs, Colo. "You're always working. You don't see the sun every day. You're adapting to a new routine, learning everything you need to know, getting to know everybody."

Bittner, an electrical assistant from Chesapeake, Va., flew to Guam, where the Ohio was deployed, and patrolled for three months.

"I found it surprising the sheer amount of things we had to study," said Bittner, a North Carolina State graduate. "It's not just the engine room or ship control. You have to be a jack of all trades. I've never worked harder, slept less or learned more than my first deployment, but I never thought twice about it because everybody's in the same position."

There are five officer staterooms on board. Women share one. There is one head for all 15 officers. It has a sign on the door saying whether it's in use by a man or woman. They also can use the watch-stander's head.

"It's not a big deal," Cowan said. "There's somebody always working, somebody always sleeping. You just go when you need to and there's no issue."

The toughest part is the separation, they said. Cowan is married to a former submariner who's now a flight officer in Virginia. Bittner is engaged to a submariner on the USS Jimmy Carter, also at Bangor.

The next group of female submariners will begin arriving at boats in January, joining the ballistic-missile USS Louisiana at Bangor and the guided-missile USS Florida at Kings Bay.

Cowan said she'd advise them that they'll be fine as long as they're willing to work hard.

"Once you get down there, you're not a female, you're a submarine (junior officer)," she said.