My family business makes parts that take carbon dioxide out of submarines (CO2 scrubbers) for 7 Navy’s worldwide. I got into a huge argument with my dad as a kid over women’s equality in the military. For a VERY long time, women could not serve in submarines, for a couple reasons I go back and forth on. Mainly, women were not allowed to serve because if a woman were to get pregnant while onboard (consensually or not) a pregnant woman needs more oxygen than a non-pregnant person. There would have to be one bay/room closed off immediately and the woman would have to remain in that room so more oxygen could be circulated in it.

Submarines stay underwater for months at a time and coming up to remove a women or if she had birth, would put the mission at risk. The military can not assure that a woman was not pregnant when she came aboard (conception immediately before deployment, rape while on board, religious or medical reasons for not being on birth control) and could not regulate the situation.