SHAKO: Navy’s First Female Chief of Boat; Return of First U.S. Nuke Submarine

TWO NAVY SUBMARINE HISTORIC FIRSTS

First Woman Chief of Boat

U.S. Navy Master Chief Information Systems Technician Angela Koogler poses for a portrait aboard the ballistic missile submarine USS Louisiana. Koogler is the Navy’s first female chief of the boat. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brian G. Reynolds)

Master Chief Information Systems Technician (Submarine) Angela Koogler has been named the top enlisted sailor on a U.S. Navy submarine.

The appointment of Koogler as chief of boat on the ballistic missile submarine USS Louisiana is a historic first for the Navy, which only began assigning female officers to submarines starting in 2011. Female enlisted sailors were allowed to serve on subs in 2016, according to Military.com.

The chief of the boat, or COB, is a sailor who serves as the senior enlisted advisor to the commanding officer and executive officer on a U.S. Navy submarine.

Koogler, who has been in the Navy for 20 years, reported to her first submarine — the guided-missile submarine USS Michigan — in May 2016, followed by a tour at Submarine Squadron 19. “We need to keep breaking down the barriers so that it just becomes all Sailors,” she said in a statement issued by the Navy. “It’s important to integrate everybody and it shouldn’t matter as long as they get the job done.”

Koogler only has 36 months serving submarines, said Submarine Squadron 19’s Command Master Chief Travis Brown. “But I knew she was the perfect candidate to be the first woman COB,” he said, adding “In 36 months, she walked off a submarine as a qualified diving officer of the watch, and everything in between, while also learning how to lead submarine Sailors.” Brown called Koogler’s appointment to the Louisiana’s top enlisted spot “a huge glass ceiling busted in the submarine force.”

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First Nuclear Submarine.

USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear submarine, has returned to public display at Groton, Connecticut after almost a year undergoing restoration. Senior Navy leaders, government, veterans and state officials welcomed back the historic ship to her home at the U.S. Submarine Base in Groton

GROTON, CONN – Sailors assigned to Historic Ship Nautilus man the rails upon receiving the command, “Crew of the Historic Ship Nautilus, reman the ship and bring her to life!” (U.S. Navy photo by Rachel E. Rakoff)

Commissioned in 1954, Nautilus wasn’t only the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, but also the world’s first submarine to reach the North Pole in 1958.

Serving for 26 years, the ship was decommissioned in 1980 after 2,500 dives and deploying 510,000 miles fueled by nuclear power. Since 1986 Nautilus has served as an exhibit at the Submarine Force Museum, allowing patrons to visit the only nuclear submarine open to the public.

During the scheduled closure, Nautilus received $35 million in refurbishments and preservation maintenance to ensure the historic ship will be able to inform, educate, and engage the public for the next 30 years.

Nautilus was towed to Naval Submarine Base New London in 2021 for dry-dock and refurbishment. Structural maintenance, such as the ship’s wooden deck replacement, repairs to the vessel’s superstructure, and restorations to the ship’s hull were performed to extend the vessel’s longevity.

Following repairs, Nautilus returned to NHHC’s fleet of naval artifacts on August 4, 2022. The vessel will remain ported in the Thames River, adjacent to the Submarine Force Museum.

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SHAKO is an occasional 4GWAR posting on military history, traditions and culture. For the uninitiated, a shako is the tall, billed headgear worn by many armies from the Napoleonic era to about the time of the American Civil War. It remains a part of the dress, or parade, uniform of several military organizations like the corps of cadets at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York in the photo.