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We Are All Doomed Now
First woman takes charge of a Navy warshipA female officer has made Royal Navy history by becoming the first woman to command an operational British warship. Lt Charlotte "Charlie" Atkinson, 32, has taken charge of Brecon, a 200ft, 750 tonne Hunt class mine counter measures vessel, 14 years after the Navy admitted female officers on equal terms with their male counterparts. The 5ft 2in officer from Dorset, whose father also served in the Royal Navy, is the only woman among the 35-strong crew and is responsible for the vesselâs "safe and effective operation". She has already completed her first duty as commanding officer - preventing the smuggling of explosives during a three-week patrol of waters around Northern Ireland - and was yesterday in Faslane, Helensburgh, preparing for another patrol. Born on Oct 21 or Trafalgar Day - which commemorates Lord Nelsonâs victory in 1805 - Lt Atkinson was only 11 when she decided she wanted to join the Royal Navy. She enrolled in 1994 after graduating from the University of Swansea and has since used her skills aboard Dumbarton Castle in the Falklands and Endurance in the Antarctic. It was last year during a two-year exchange with the Royal New Zealand Navy that she was offered the position of commander of Brecon. Speaking aboard the Brecon yesterday Lt Atkinson said: "To be in charge of a warship is the most challenging and exciting job I think there is to officers in the Navy and to get it at this stage in my career is tremendous." She said she was not intimidated by becoming the first woman to command an operational British warship because she was supported "100 per cent" by her crew. "When you are at work, you do your job and Iâve got an excellent team on board and I enjoy working with them," she said. Lt Atkinson added: "I hope this will send out a signal to other women in the Navy that they can go up the ranks." Of the prospects of one day going to war, she said: "We have the confidence in knowing that everyone has been extremely well trained for the job." Her appointment is widely regarded as a significant milestone for the progress of women in the Services. Until now, only eight women, including Lt Atkinson, have taken charge of command vessels attached to university Royal Navy units used for training student recruits. But they are much smaller ships with an average crew of five. Women account for nine per cent of the 41,348 personnel in the Royal Navy with 1,145 serving at sea. There are only 635 female officers, eight per cent of the officer corps. But the crew aboard Brecon said they were happy working under the command of a female officer. "This is the first vessel Iâve been in where a woman has been in charge. I donât mind it at all," said Brian Cashman, 24, an operator mechanic. "If anything, Lt Atkinson seems a bit more chilled out than previous captains I have worked with, which is a good thing." Posted by: tipper 2004-01-29 |
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