It is not a matter of sexism that urinals are being removed in the design of US aircraft carriers, it is a matter of making living quarters that house fewer people in a block, give more privacy, and can serve any sailor as practical, safe housing that gets with the times. The idea is one of not having to get dressed to go out into a hallway  or to put up with harassment and other issues in the middle of the night, not whether urinals are present.

Sexism apparently is not an issue with the sailors, who anonymously and mostly agreed that they were  “… glad to hear urinals were going away, mainly because they’re harder to clean than toilets and they easily break down. One less toilet fixture also means fewer parts to have to store.”

The rising number of women sailors is another important factor. The Navy will have far fewer problems with switching living quarters around when crew composition goes through changes. Previously, women were forced to live in quarters that only had urinals and that was unacceptable. The vast majority of Americans do not grow up in homes that have urinals, nor do they have land based housing on with urinals as the only option. It is good that they will have toilet and bathing facilities that gives them more privacy and is flexible enough to meet the needs of men and women.

According to Navy Times, “Giving every berthing area a connected toilet and shower — another carrier first — means sailors won’t have to get dressed if they wake up in the middle of the night to use the head.” There will be between 20 and 80 sailors per berth, with shared bathrooms that can accommodate any gender as personnel moves and changes occur.

The Navy used to get away with cattle car crew areas with up to 200 soldiers crammed into a single living and hygiene management space, but life has to get better for an all volunteer aircraft carrier force. Who wants to repeat life that ex-Navy fathers and grandfathers had to live? Today’s sailor should not have to continue to live in the dark ages of Navy service. Such living is not a character or building life experience; keeping urinals for everyone to use is not any kind of great tradition.

All officers will have attached bathrooms now. Before, only senior officers had their own private bath. The rest will sleep and live with the traditional bunks that are called “racks”. The sailors will continue to have limited storage space for their clothes and possessions, but will still develop into close knit groups that work out their living and other issues as they come up.

The real challenge will be for the Gerald R. Ford engineers to resolve the technical issues with its vacuum powered flushing systems that tend to back up and release noxious content into the air of tight spaces.

The Ford class carriers are expected to be deployed  between 2015 and 2027, at a projected cost of $37 billion.