Women in the U.S. Navy: Historic Documents
Press Release Announces that Navy to Begin Assigning Women to Ships
News Release
Office of Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
Washington DC
No. 557-78
Oxford 73189 (Copies)
Oxford 75131 (Info)
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 24, 1978
NAVY TO BEGIN ASSIGNING WOMEN TO SHIPS
The Department of the Navy announced today that it will begin assigning women to duty aboard ships. The action is in accord with Navy-sponsored changes to legislation governing the assignment of women contained in the recently enacted Fiscal Year 1979 Defense Authorization Bill. The action is also in accordance with the applicable judicial decision.
Navy women will be assigned permanently to selected non-combatant ships, and may be assigned on temporary duty (180 days or less) aboard any ship that is not expected to become involved in a combat role while women are aboard.
During Fiscal Year 1979, 55 officers and 375 enlisted women will be assigned to 21 ships in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets, with the first officers reporting aboard their respective ships on November 1, 1978. The first enlisted women will report in December.
Of the ships listed below, only the first four have both officer and enlisted women ordered to them at this time. The ships, homeports, and the numbers of officer and enlisted women to be assigned are as follows:
| SHIP | TYPE | HOMEPORT | OFF | ENL |
| USS VULCAN (AR 5) | Repair Ship | Norfolk, VA | 3 | 62 |
| USS L Y SPEARS (AS 36) | Submarine Tender | Norfolk, VA | 2 | 102 |
| USS SAMUEL GOMPERS (AD 36) | Destroyer Tender | San Diego, CA | 4 | 102 |
| USS NORTON SOUND (AVM 1) | Missile Test Ship | Port Hueneme, CA | 4 | 70 |
| USS DIXON (AS 37) | Submarine Tender | San Diego, CA | 3 | |
| USS PUGET SOUND (AD 38) |
Destroyer Tender | Norfolk, VA | 3 | |
| USS HARKNESS (TAGS 32) |
Surveying Ship | Norfolk, VA | 1 | |
| USS PIEDMONT (AD 17) | Destroyer Tender | Norfolk, VA | 3 | |
| USS SHENANDOAH (AD 26) |
Destroyer Tender | Norfolk, VA | 2 | |
| USS AJAX (AR 6) | Repair Ship | San Diego, CA | 2 | |
| USS HECTOR (AR 7) | Repair Ship | San Francisco, CA | 3 | |
| USS PROTEUS (AS 19) | Submarine Tender | Guam, M.I. | 3 | |
| USS YOSEMITE (AD 19) | Destroyer Tender | Mayport, FL | 2 | |
| USS JASON (AR 8) | Repair Ship | San Diego, CA | 2 | |
| USS SPERRY (AS 12) | Submarine Tender | San Diego, CA | 2 | |
| USS HOLLAND (AS 32) | Submarine Tender | Holy Loch, Scotland | 3 | |
| USS CANOPUS (AS 34) | Submarine Tender | Rota, Spain | 2 | |
| USS HUNLEY (AS 31) | Submarine Tender | Charleston, SC | 2 | |
| USS SIMON LAKE (AS 33) |
Submarine Tender | Charleston, SC | 3 | |
| USS PRAIRIE (AD 15) | Destroyer Tender | San Diego, CA | 2 |
The twenty-first ship in the program will be identified later.
END
Note: USS Vulcan (AR-5) was the first US Navy ship on which women were deployed (with the exception of nurses on hospital ships).
