Times change. And our institutions must change with them. There was a time when the U.S. Navy could argue — and not be out of societal step — that it made sense to keep women off submarines. Close quarters, and all that. No longer. Women serve in combat and aboard warships. They pilot combat jets. They've been taken prisoner in bad neighborhoods, and they've given up their lives for their country. They've paid their dues and proved their mettle. It's time to let them serve aboard submarines.
Fortunately, that is where the Navy is headed. Defense Secretary Robert Gates notified Congress in a letter last week that women will soon be allowed to serve on submarines for the first time in the Navy's 110-year history. Lawmakers have 30 days to pass a law to stop or delay the policy.
But if they don't, women could be aboard Navy submarines in 18 months.
It won't be the end of civilization as we know it. More importantly, it's the right thing to do. If not being able to serve on a submarine has, in any way, a negative impact on a women's career in the Navy, then that's not just unfair but also flat-out discriminatory.
The same goes for barring gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. This is another relic of the past that needs to come to an end.
Change is scary. It requires attitudinal and behavioral adjustment and acceptance that there will be new challenges that did not occur before. And there will be those who claim that making these changes will somehow weaken the institution. They're 180 degrees off the mark. As has always been the case, making the military more fair and more inclusive will only make it stronger.
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