First Class: Women Join the Ranks at the Naval Academy

I had the opportunity to work for her as a civilian employee during her tour as an Assistant Resident Officer In Charge of Construction at the Everett ROICC office during the initial construction of the Everett Hompeport, current home of the Abraham Lincoln Battle Group.

At that time we were just starting to see female officers in construction managemant. It was one of the many fields that had been strictly male up until the time that she came on board.

I was a GS-9 Construction QA and served as her eyes and ears in the field. She was the contracting officer and had final say on any changes to the projects we worked on and had final signature authority for any changes we made.

It was surprising for a lot of the contractors to be working for a woman, in any capacity. It was more surprising for most of them that she was a quick study, learned their projects as fast as they did and was at least as sharp.

I am about ten years older than her but that was common for me when working with Lieutenants. They tended to be kids in my eyes. I like to think that I had no preconceptions about working for a woman although I never had before.

I always found Sharon to be totally professional. She would listen when she didn't know a subject but she never let the contractors get an edge on her. She had strong people skills and never had to rely on "cute". She was always an engineer and a naval officer. In short she was a professional.

I recognize some of the stories in the book because they are ones she told when she shared an office with me.

This book was a hard read for me because I knew how many of the experiences were hers.

If you read this book be aware that while it states that the names are changed, it is often to protect the guilty, not the innocent. The acadamies are still a tough place for women to survive as we continue to see in the news.

It has gotten better though, through the courage and efforts of officers like Sharon Disher, who had to be better than her counterparts to survive.

I still consider her the best officer I worked for in 21 years of civil service.

Respectfully,
Terrence N. Tallman
Naval Facilities Engineering Command


My Favorite!   October 14, 2001
1 out of 4 found this review helpful

After reading this book once I couldn't put it back down, so I read it for another three times in a row. As a future plebe I look at this book as an inperation, because these were the women who laid down the path for me and my generation of women who want to go the the United States Naval Academy. I really honor Mrs. Disher for sharing her experince at the academy as one of the first women gradurates of the academy. I really encourge anyone female or male to read this book!


wow...   July 2, 2001
2 out of 5 found this review helpful

This is an incredible book - my new favorite, in fact. I'm not a midshipman at the Academy, though I thought seriously about it before deciding to go ROTC. I visited the Academy, and I saw so many of the experiences related in this book. While reading, it brought it all back to me. The story is not one just for the military type - it's a story about overcoming challenges, a story that anyone can take to heart. The best part of it is that in doing that, it doesn't make the characters perfect, but rather real people with faults and troubles. In fictionalizing the women in the class, it would have been easy to overlook the little problems, but Ms. Disher captures them perfectly. I had borrowed the book from a friend, but I'm going to go out and buy it so the story can continue to inspire me. Thank you!


Interesting but....   November 25, 2000
Kate (Melbourne, Australia)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

I read and enjoyed this book but was disappointed by the fictionalisation of characters. Surely a first person account would have been account would have been more effective. But then again after reading what these brave women went through, I expect that a lot of them would have preferred to forget the less savoury times of their lives and an institution that reclutantly underwent one of the biggest changes in its history.