Queens of the Dive a Skimmer Promotion

6/16/2010 - Third Consecutive Miss Virginia Visits Namesake Sub (for more info see Bubblehead's posting).

Would the more appropriate dateline for the article linked above have been Naval Station Norfolk, where these visits had obviously been orchestrated?

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What was the purpose of such visits? Great for crew morale, PR, and barrier bursting, too!

But submarines? They are just not very attractive places. And being locked up in one for six months at a time, it does something to people's minds. They're known as fishheads. ... But I'm just not sure who would be interested in submarines. There's not the same variety of work, there's the fact you don't see daylight for six months, that whole aspect of being cooped up, with no chance of getting off. It wouldn't be for me. - Nicola, ex- Royal Navy, who preferred not using her full name.

A Domino Effect (US-UK-US)

The Royal Navy will soon allow women sailors to serve on submarines – including its 11-strong fleet of nuclear submarines (which includes SSNs).

We were a bit optimistic about the numbers in the frigates, said Julian Ferguson, a retired submarine commander. A lot were converted to accommodate women, and a fair few then quietly converted back.

Will the Dutch submarine on 90-day deployment (September through November 2010) for Somalian piracy eavesdropping have any female crew?

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ANSWER: No, the Royal Netherlands Navy prohibits women from serving on submarines, and according to the British MoD differences in sheer physical strength between men and women mean that only 0.1% of female applicants, and 1% of trained women soldiers, could meet the lifting, carrying, load marching and combat requirements that are the bread and butter of British infantry life.

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Submarines are always silent and strange.