
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, December 2, 1993                   TAG: 9312020106
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

NAVY CARRIERS TO INCLUDE WOMEN IN '94

The Navy plans to put hundreds of female sailors on aircraft carriers in 1994 in the first major deployment of women on combat vessels, Navy Secretary John Dalton said Wednesday.

Dalton said plans call for putting 400 to 500 women on several of the huge warships over the coming year.

Legislation lifting the ban on women serving aboard combat vessels was signed Tuesday by President Clinton.

Dalton said efforts are being made in the post-Tailhook era to help male sailors adjust. He noted that it was the Navy that proposed opening combat jobs to women.

Despite the poor image that has plagued the Navy since the Tailhook sex harassment scandal, Dalton pledged the transition will be accomplished smoothly.

"In '94, you'll see women serving aboard aircraft carriers. The plan is to have 400 to 500 women aboard three aircraft carriers by the end of '94," he said. "We will benefit from the experience that we've already had about how to implement that, and learning from the lessons of the past in terms of what we've already done." - Associated Press

by CNB