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That article/letter is a load of crap; my guess written by a bitter old man. It insinuates that the collision happened because the TAO and OOD were having a spat and that women are somehow more prone to interpersonal problems. Really? Navy wardrooms have the same political maneuvering and likes/dislikes as any corporate office. The dysfunction from this type of stuff is often a function of the leadership, or lack thereof, from the CO/XO.
TAO, at least in the early 90’s, has no responsibility for safe navigation of the ship (I was one), serves as the Commanding Officer’s watch representative for combat readiness and weapons release. The DCO, Damage Control Officer, is the ship’s Chief Engineer and physical strength has nothing to do with the job. It’s an administrative title and the actual day to day responsibilities of damage control fall to the DC Assistant (me again).
My ship was one of the early gender integrated ships and I wasn’t a fan of it, but it wasn’t because women couldn’t do the job. In fact one of my best sailors was a woman. We called her “Thunderella”.
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