USS Ronald Reagan Conducts RAS With All-Female Rig Team
by U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tyra M. Campbell October 10, 2019
Twenty-one female Sailors assigned to the Navy’s forward-deployed
aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan’s (CVN 76) Deck Department formed
the first all-female underway replenishment (UNREP) rig team during
a replenishment-at-sea (RAS) detail with Military Sealift Command’s
dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO 193) on August
1, 2019.
August 1, 2019 - Sailors assigned to the Navy's forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) handle line during a replenishment-at-sea with the Military Sealift Command's fleet replenishment oiler USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO 193). Twenty-one Sailors assigned to Deck Department formed the first all-female underway replenishment rig team in the ship's history. Ronald Reagan, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 5, provides a combat-ready force that protects and defends the collective maritime interests of its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tyra M. Campbell)
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The all-women team is the first in Ronald Reagan’s history.
Senior Chief Boatswain’s Mate Matthew Ross, Deck Department’s
leading chief petty officer, was the leading force in making the
all-women crew a reality.
“We have all the pieces in place to make this happen, so why
not?” said the Eagle, Idaho, native. “I've got a lot of talented
female Sailors--some that have been here for four or more years and
others that have been here for only a few months. I don’t really
think Sailors or people think of this as a big deal, but it really
is.”
In order to appreciate the present, Sailors must look at the past
and the immense progression Navy women have made.
“I think a lot of us Sailors take our current jobs and work
environment for granted,” said Ross. “Look how far we have come as
an organization. The year 1995 was when women were first allowed on
ships. It was nothing like it is now. It was just a few ships where
women could work or maybe there was only a few women on the ship.
Now my department is 30 to 40 percent female.”
Mathematically, there shouldn’t be enough female Sailors in
Reagan’s Deck Department to be able to man a full aircraft carrier’s
rigging team. Female Sailors make up 20 percent of the Navy
according to U.S. Navy demographic data from Jan. 1 this year.
“This is the most females we have ever had and I’ve been here
since August of 2015,” said Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Daishea
Boland, from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. “To be able to man
this team with such strong women was not easy and it’s an extremely
special opportunity to be a part of this.”
The positions of the team include: the UNREP safety officer, who
oversees the station’s safety throughout the evolution; the rig
captain, responsible for all personnel working on station and the
successful completion of the evolution; the riggers who hook-up the
mechanism that sends the cargo back and forth; the signalman, who
uses two signal paddles to send and receive messages; the sliding
padeye and gypsy winch operators, who operate essential equipment
that sends the rig back and forth and lowers cargo to the deck;
phone talkers, who use sound-powered headsets to communicate; and
line handlers, who haul on the line to assemble the rig.
Boatswain’s mates are typically viewed as tough, gritty,
masculine workers among the deck plates. A female boatswain’s mate
obviously contradicts many of those stereotypes.
“Females in Deck Department — we’re used to being singled out and
being different,” said Boatswain Mate 2nd Class Claire Schwalbach,
from Versailles, Kentucky. “It’s no surprise to me how we banded
together and were able to do this successfully on our own regardless
of the obstacles before us.”
This particular evolution was special to the Sailors involved and
another opportunity to break down stereotypes of females not being
able to work as effectively as their male counterparts.
“I wanted to show everyone, ‘look what Reagan is doing,’” said
Ross. “‘Look what Deck is doing.’ We are giving females the
spotlight to show the Navy and whoever else that this rig team is
just as good and just as capable as anyone else’s team out there.”
Birmingham, Alabama’s Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Keneeka Linn is
Reagan’s only Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class and was the safety observer
during the evolution. “At the end of the day, it really wasn’t
about gender. It’s what we chose to do and we did it successfully as
a team.”
At approximately 0930, the 21 Sailors safely rigged the station
and sent the first load of cargo to the Walter S. Diehl. Following
the first round of cargo, the team quickly eased into a rhythmic
operation. After a three-hour evolution, the all-female crew
successfully sent and recovered 100 pallets of food, mail and
retrograde material.
Few vessels have given their Sailors the chance for these
advanced qualifications and trained them to take the mantel Ross
said. “This is not male versus female. They are not special.
Everyone can do everything in this department, but you do have to
give everyone a chance, regardless of sex, race, or religious
orientation. None of that stuff matters. What matters is doing our
job and doing it right.”
Ronald Reagan, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 5, provides a
combat-ready force that protects and defends the collective maritime
interests of its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
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