Fire Controlman 2nd Class Jessica Staley, assigned to guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94), is on the doorstep of history.

Like many Sailors, Staley, originally from Scobey, Montana, joined the Navy to travel the world and get an education.

"I wanted to be on submarines when I joined, but it wasn't available [for women] at the time," Staley said.

That all changed in January 2015 when the Navy announced enlisted women would be eligible to cross-deck to Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), Ohio-class guided-missile submarines (SSGN) and Virginia-class attack submarines (SSN) after allowing female officers the chance to serve on submarines in 2011.

Selection to the program was no easy feat. Staley had to submit three years-worth of evaluations, physical readiness test results, awards, letters of recommendation, complete a submarine physical and be evaluated by a board.

"My chain of command has been awesome," Staley said. "I have gotten letters of recommendation from both captains and command master chiefs that I have served under since reporting to Nitze."

Staley's chain of command was there to support and assist with questions she had regarding the submarine force.

"Since this program is so new, there were a lot of things that I was uncertain about, and my chief and leading petty officer (LPO) used their connections to help me get answers," Staley said.

Before cross-rating, Fire Controlman 1st Class Mario Grau, Staley's LPO, was a fire control technician (FT) stationed aboard Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Wyoming (SSBN 742).

"Our chain of command has been extremely supportive of FC2's (Staley's) conversion to FT, from the captain on down," Grau said.

Staley was Nitze's Junior Sailor of the Quarter and is an extremely intelligent and self-motivated candidate for submarines, Grau explained.

Staley will report to Basic Enlisted Submarine School in October and start FT "A" School late December. Upon completion of "A" school, she is set to report to the Ohio-class guided-missile submarine USS Florida (SSGN 728), homeported in Kings Bay, Georgia.

When asked if she had any advice for women who wanted to follow in her footsteps, Staley said, "Be persistent, and do not give up. Know that there will be people that will try to dissuade you; listen to them and respect their opinions, but if it is something that you truly want to do, go for it and do not let anything or anyone stand in your way."

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