It was an early spring morning on the Arabian Gulf—under way on one of the Navy’s last remaining wooden ships, the seas a gentle 2–3 feet and the temperatures prematurely rising as they are notorious for in the region. As the sun crept up above the horizon and poked through the scattered clouds and dusty haze, some 15 sailors—dressed in rainbow float coats and hard hats—stood on the forecastle receiving a safety brief from their petty officer-in-charge. No watches, no rings, no dangly things. Head on a swivel. Hydrate. It was the standard pre-sweeping brief minemen had been giving, and listening to, for years. This brief was slightly different, though. As the sailors left their huddle and marched aft to “man the fantail,” one of them was breaking a glass ceiling along the way. At 0900 on that March morning, the first female mineman in the U.S. Navy’s history streamed a sweep.
In January 2017, the USS Gladiator (MCM-11), forward deployed to Manama, Bahrain, became the first U.S. mine countermeasures ship to integrate female enlisted sailors by welcoming aboard three chief petty officers. This phased approach—bringing in khaki leadership first—was a meaningful step in fully integrating the crew by providing deckplate leadership and mentorship for the new sailors who would follow. In the late summer of 2018, follow they did. The first of what would be 15 junior enlisted sailors reported aboard over a four-month period. Every member of that group was a “first” for the Gladiator and for the Navy’s fleet of minesweepers—a yeoman, machinist’s mates, an electrician’s mate, a damage controlman, an engineman, a fireman, a quartermaster, an electronics technician, and the first junior enlisted logistics specialist. Included in that group of firsts were the first female minemen to serve on board a minesweeper—serving in both deck division and the combat information center.
While this group of new sailors brought over a dozen “firsts,” the minemen were particularly noteworthy. According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, the rating was created in 1943, disestablished in 1947, and re-established in 1948. While it certainly has undergone changes over the decades as technology, platforms, mission sets, and service priorities have evolved, the modern mineman—an amalgamation of some five ratings—spends their career rotating among three unit types. Until late 2018, there was no avenue for minemen who happened to be women to serve at sea—arguably the apex of their field, where members of the rating get to practice the full spectrum of their skill sets; instead, they were restricted to working in helicopter squadrons or shore detachments. The Gladiator changed that, and with it the somewhat-antiquated chant, “Wooden Ships, Iron Men.”
In late 1993, President Bill Clinton signed a Defense Authorization Act that lifted the Combat Exclusion Law, which restricted women from serving their country aboard combatant vessels. Prior to that, female officers, chiefs, and enlisted sailors could only serve at sea on board support vessels. Over the past decade, the U.S. Navy has made great strides in gender integration —most notably integrating the submarine service, often thought to be one of the last vestiges of an all-male operational fleet. That said, even as submarines—with their limited berthing spaces, heads, and all-around tight quarters—welcomed women to their crews, there were still surface vessels—mine countermeasures ships and coastal patrol craft—that maintained all-male crews.
Working closely with Mine Countermeasures Squadrons Three and Five, Naval Surface Squadron Five, and Navy Personnel Command, the Gladiator was able to take a deliberate approach to its integration, converting a berthing space and strategically planning for female sailors to relieve their male counterparts in a timely manner to minimize both personnel gaps and extended overlaps. The evolution has been a resounding success, and most importantly, has been treated as business as usual on board the ship, with its leaders focusing on taking care of and working together with Gladiators, instead of men or women.
The crew has not missed a beat, excelling during engineering light off and certification and seamlessly integrating as the forward-deployed asset executed its Basic Phase under the new “Surface Force Readiness and Training Manual.” The ship has since welcomed the first female main propulsion assistant ever to serve on board a minesweeper. It is preparing to qualify the first MCM Oil Queen and later this summer will see women simultaneously filling both the commanding officer and executive officer roles. The ship takes great pride in leading the way for minesweepers and for the future full integration of the service. With women making up 22 percent of the crew, the ship already is on par with or ahead of the fleet average. As others follow in theGladiator’s wake, it has been proven that a commitment to excellence, innovation, patience, and meaningful leadership are the ingredients to assure certain victory. What’s next? The ship has volunteered to integrate female junior officers and department heads—the only billets to remain male-only—but otherwise is working together to be the best minesweeper in the fleet and stands ready to execute operational tasking. As the Gladiator sails the Arabian Gulf and beyond, it is proud of its place in history and is wholly focused on mission accomplishment and providing an on-call, combat-ready asset to task force and fleet commanders.
Some of the first female enlisted sailor to serve on board the USS Gladiator (MCM-11). U.S. Navy
