One of the first few junior enlisted women to be accepted into the submarine service has been selected from none other than USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77)'s ship's company, July 5.

Ship's Serviceman Seaman Dakotacheyenne DiGiavanni, who works in GHWB's supply department and hails from Los Angeles, has been accepted to be among the small number of enlisted women to serve aboard submarines as part of the Navy's "Enlisted Women on Submarines" program.

DiGiavanni said she wanted to join the sub service because of the challenge and the chance for self-improvement, as well as the fact it was something women were only just being allowed into.

"I wanted to do it for the challenge," said DiGiavanni. "It's something new and it's something different from this. I've been an SH on an aircraft carrier for three years. I love my SH family, but I want a challenge, something new; and this is new to the whole Navy. In doing this, I'm opening up so many doors for other women who are just like me and want something like that."

Signing on proved not to be an easy process, however. DiGiavanni said she had to go through countless medical examinations and go over piles of paperwork, even more than when she first enlisted in the military.

"When I read the instruction, I saw that I needed to see an undersea medical officer (UMO)," said DiGiavanni. "I had no idea what that was or where to go to find one. There are none on ships like this. They're only attached to submarine squadrons and things like that."

In addition to all the red tape to sort through, DiGiavanni was on a tight deadline, that was only made tighter by GHWB's impending deployment.

"Finally, I located a UMO at Sub Squadron 6," said DiGiavanni. "He looked through my medical package, and it turns out I was missing a lot of parts! I explained that I was going on deployment soon, so we had to rush it. The deadline to get my package done was April 1, and we deployed in January. I could only get it done at Sub Squadron 6. At first they said there was no way I could get everything done in time, but I expressed to them just how badly I wanted this program and they agreed to help me."

In addition to simply qualifying to serve aboard submarines, DiGiavanni had to go through the administrative protocols of cross-rating.

"There are no SHs on submarines, so I had to cross-rate," said DiGiavanni. "I'm going to become a yeoman. They gave me five choices for my new rate, and it was between culinary specialist, logistics specialist, yeoman, fire control technician, and sonar technician (submarine). I wanted either YN or LS, and I got my first choice."

On July 5, the list of women who had been chosen for the submarine service were released, and DiGiavanni's shipmates in supply department saw the results before she did. Rejoicing, they went to congratulate the new submariner.

"I was looking through the message traffic when I saw the results had come out, Ship's Serviceman 1st Class Soriano and I immediately went out looking for DiGiavanni to tell her the wonderful news," said Ship's Serviceman 1st Class Michael McElroy. "When we finally found her and told her, she burst into tears. I looked at her and said, 'Don't cry! Submariners don't cry!' Then we all hugged and congratulated her."

DiGiavanni's friend, Ship's Serviceman 3rd Class Ashley Tippins, said that she was DiGiavanni's main supporter through the process, and she loved seeing her friend go on to achieve something so significant.

"I encouraged her to keep going whenever she said she didn't know if she wanted to do it, or if people doubted her," said Tippins. "It feels great knowing she got it. It's what she wanted, and I knew she was going to get picked up. There was no way they wouldn't pick her for it. I just knew it. I wish her the best of luck and I know she's going to go far. And she'll always have us here for her."

Despite the doubts and the difficulties she encountered, DiGiavanni stayed persistent. She said that if anything, the doubters only made her strive harder to become a submariner.

"When the results finally came out and I saw that I had been accepted as a YN, I was so excited, because the whole time, I had more people telling me I couldn't do it than people telling me I could," said DiGiavanni. "Through all that, I just said, 'Okay. Fine. I still want to do it.'"

SHSN, soon to be YNSN, Dakotacheyenne DiGiavanni's name will be one of the first and few women to serve aboard U.S. Navy submarines, joining the men already there to serve her country beneath the waves. The surface is no longer the limit for DiGiavanni.

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