They've been building these Virginia class submarines for just about 20 years, so a lot has been learned and all of that has been incorporated into the Iowa.' has capabilities far greater than the first few that were built, right? We've learned lessons. 'As each one gets built, as time goes on, more advancements come on, so each boat is even better than the last.

The Iowa is the 24th of 37 Virginia-class submarines, and O'Malley says each one will be better than the last. In the meantime, more of its kind are being made. Next, the USS Iowa will move into its testing phase and sea trials before official commissioning. The USS Iowa will also include more privacy and accommodations, like separate sleeping (berthing) areas, showers and restrooms. “We haven’t even been commissioned yet, and we’ve already had females from the very beginning,” she said of the Iowa. The USS Iowa will change that experience. To get operational experience, female crew members have joined all-male crews on boats with no previously existing gender-specific accommodations. Lieutenant Taylor Boosmann, who will serve as the Iowa’s navigator (NAV) once it launches, remembers flipping a Velcro sign over on the bathroom door to change it from a men's to a women’s restroom whenever she needed to use it on other ships.īoosmann has experienced being the first woman on crews before. “I feel like we’re making changes that might be slow, but this is something to really be excited about.” “There have been extraordinary women doing extraordinary things in the military for a very long time,' she said. Jordan Schneider, the communications director for the USS Iowa commissioning committee, said she's excited by the new changes. 'That way everyone has their privacy,' O'Malley said. The USS Iowa, however, was specifically designed from its blueprint to accommodate with extra doors and extra bathroom arrangements. So we've kind of had to retrofit some of the bathrooms and some of the berthing areas.' But in the day-to-day lives of living on a submarine, it's extremely tight quarters. 'In terms of submariners, we always want the best and the brightest, so gender really doesn't ever play a role. 'We submariners always made that work, right?' he said. Gates lifted the ban.Īccording to the Iowa's executive officer, Lieutenant Commander Kevin O'Malley, most boats had to then be retrofitted to accommodate female crew.

Women weren’t allowed to serve as submariners until 2010, when Secretary of Defense Robert M. The 377-foot, 7000-ton ship will be officially commissioned in 2024 before taking to the water and beginning its 30+ years of service.Īmong its first crew of 130 will be several women, which, for the first time, the submarine will be specifically designed to accommodate.

Us submarine classes commissioned 2016