Commander, Naval Surface Forces, Honors Women Serving at Sea

by Karli Yeager

30 November 2023
SAN DIEGO — Rear Adm. Yvette Davids, commander, Naval Surface Forces, hosted an all-hands call onboard Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Comstock (LSD 45), to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of women serving aboard surface combatants at Naval Base San Diego, Nov. 30.

On Nov. 30, 1993, Congress repealed Title 10 U.S.C. Section 6015, that previously barred women from combatant ships, preventing integrated crews and situations where women would be at risk of hostile fire, capture, or direct combat. On March 7, 1994, the Navy issued the first orders for women to be assigned aboard a combatant ship.

“Women who serve our Navy today follow in the wake of courageous pioneers who broke glass ceilings and blazed trails that transformed our Navy and created the opportunities for women to serve our Navy in equal standing alongside men,” said Davids. “Today, all the doors of opportunity are open to women who are leading at every level in our Navy. The question for women, and more broadly for every Sailor serving in our Navy, is no longer about what can you do, it’s about what do you want to do, and how far can your talent and ambition can take you.”

Davids emphasized that women must continue to show their experience, grit, and tenacity as an essential role in the most ready and lethal Surface Force in the world.

“I’m here to tell you that I’m one of the people who benefitted from the repeal of Title 10,” said Capt. Andria Slough, commanding officer of the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD-8). “In the 30 years I’ve been in the Navy, I’ve been the commanding officer of three combatant ships, and I would not have been able to do that without that article being repealed.”

Today, there are more than 340,000 active-duty members in the U.S. Navy, and nearly 20% of those service members are women. Women now serve in every rank from seaman to admiral and in every job from boatswain’s mate to surface warfare officer.

The mission of CNSP is to man, train, and equip the Surface Force to provide fleet commanders with credible naval power to control the sea and project power ashore.

For more news from Naval Surface Forces, visit https://www.surfpac.navy.mil/ and www.dvidshub.net/unit/COMNAVSURFPAC.

For more information about women serving in the U.S. Navy, visit https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/diversity/women-in-the-navy.html