The Enlisted Women in Submarine Task Force hosted a recruitment and conversion brief at Lockwood Hall Sept. 29.

The recruitment for this cycle of applicants comes on the heels of successful integration of female officers and senior enlisted Sailors onboard submarines that started in 2010.

In January 2013, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta rescinded the 1994 Direct Combat Exclusion act which restricted women from serving onboard submarines.

Naval Administrative (NAVADMIN) message 19/15 entitled, "Opening Submarine Force Billets to Enlisted Women," detailed the enlisted women integration plan and was formally approved in December 2014 for federal funding by Congress.

This year, NAVADMIN message 196/16 detailed requirements for female Sailors interested in applying.

Female Sailors in ranks seaman recruit to senior chief petty officer are eligible to apply.

Chief petty officer and senior chief petty officer conversions are available for information systems technician (ITS), logistics specialist (LS), culinary specialist (CS), and yeoman (YN).

Petty officer first class and below conversions are available for sonar technician, fire control technician, machinist's mate-weapons, machinist's mate-Auxiliary, missile technician, electronics technician-navigation, electronics technician-communications, LS, ITS, CS, and YN.

This cycle of conversions will be for the initial enlisted integration of guided-missile submarine USS Ohio (SSGN 726) submarine crews in Bangor, Washington in 2018.

Applications are due by April 1, 2017 and the selection process will begin in May 2017.

For more information on how to apply see your command career counselor and visit http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/enlisted/community/submarine/pages/EnlistedWomeninSubmarines.aspx/.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.