- Angela Coogler made history for the U.S. Navy’s submarine force when she became “Captain.”
- Currently, she is preparing to board the USS Louisiana, a nuclear missile submarine.
- “We need to keep breaking down barriers,” Coogler said in a Navy statement this week.
The first woman in the history of the U.S. Navy’s submarine force to become a “captain” prepares to head out to sea after joining the crew of a submarine.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet Submarine Force said in a statement that Chief Information Systems Technician Angela Coogler was on board the nuclear-missile submarine as part of the Gold Crew.
It was announced this week that Coogler, an Ohio native, was named the Navy’s first female captain last year. .
Two weeks ago, Coogler, a 20-year Navy veteran, joined the crew of the USS Louisiana. The USS Louisiana is one of the Sea Service’s Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, carrying nuclear-armed Trident-her missiles and serving as a vital leg. of the US Nuclear Triad.
The tug guides the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Louisiana (SSBN 743) to an anchorage at Naval Station Kitsap-Bangor after completing a strategic deterrence patrol.
U.S. Navy Photo by Lieutenant Ed Earley
“There have been challenges,” she said in a Navy statement. “But you just have to keep going. There will be walls you have to break down, but don’t let them stop you.”
According to USNI News, women have served in the Navy since 1917, but it took decades before they could serve alongside men.
According to the Navy, female officers began serving on Navy submarines in 2011. The move preceded the integration of female seafarers, who became non-commissioned officers in 2016.
US Navy Master Chief Information Systems Technician Angela Coogler poses for an environmental portrait aboard the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Louisiana (SSBN 743). Coogler is the Navy’s first female captain.
U.S. Navy Photo: Mass Communications Specialist First Class Brian G. Reynolds
“We have to keep breaking down barriers so that we can all sailors,” Coogler said.
“Sailor is Sailor to me, you don’t have to define gender,” she continued.
Coogler hopes to achieve more than the historic first of becoming a captain during his time in the Navy. She aspires to become a Commander-in-Chief (or CMC), a senior leader who reports directly to a commander or commander.
“Since my first commando, I always wanted to be Command Master Chief,” Coogler said. , this is just a stepping stone.
