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"   For the past century, women have been prohibited from submarine service due to the small, cramped quarters, group bathrooms, and shared bunks. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates formally presented a letter to congressional leaders in February stating the Navy&amp;#039;s desire to reverse the current policy. Since then, the Department of the Navy has announced a policy change that&amp;#039;s opened the steel hatches for women to serve on submarines.    In 1950, the United States military was composed of less than 2 percent women. Since then, a total of 197,900 women have been on active duty (US Census 2007), increasing the percentage to 14 percent. Vice Admiral John J. Donnelly, Commander, Naval Submarine Forces, could not have put it better when he said, &amp;quot;There are capable women who have the interest, talent, and desire to succeed in the submarine force. Maintaining the best submarine force in the world requires us to recruit from the largest possible talent pool.&amp;quot; The implementation of the policy change will begin by assigning three female officers in eight different crews of guided-missile attack and ballistic missile submarines. These women will be assigned to two submarines on the East Coast and two on the West Coast. Living space is available aboard these subs, which will require no modification in order for the 24 women to integrate. Our hats off to this latest milestone for women. As part of Good Housekeeping&amp;#039;s 125th birthday this year, we&amp;#039;re celebrating 125 women who broke records, broke ground, blazed trails, and suffered trials, shattering ceilings of glass and even tougher stuff. See who&amp;#039;s on our list. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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