Associated Press - October 7, 2009 4:05 PM ET
BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) - Women could begin serving aboard Navy submarines as early as 2011.
A Navy spokesman at the Pentagon told The Kitsap Sun it's preparing a notification to Congress, a necessary administrative step.
Lt. Cmdr. John Daniels says women officers could begin training as early as next year.
Many of the women could be sent to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, home to eight Trident ballistic missile submarines and two cruise missile subs. Six other Tridents and two more cruise missile subs are based at Kings Bay, Ga.
Daniels says the conversion to mixed-gender crews would begin with Tridents because of their size - 560 feet long with a beam of 42 feet.
Women have been allowed to serve on Navy surface ships since 1994.
Information from: Kitsap Sun, http://www.kitsapsun.com/
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