My Navy Too: A Political Novel Based on Real Life Experiences

My Navy Too, the story of one woman's career in the U.S. Navy, is painted against a backdrop of the drama of the nineteen sixties and seventies -- the Vietnam War, the women's movement, and the confusion of the Cold War, and later, the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" policy debate. While Vietnam runs its tragic course, Tucker Fairfield fights within the navy for women's rights and equality against her most implacable foe, "Big Daddy Navy." Tucker's communications with her mentor and friends and journal reveal a complex amalgam of human interactions and conflicts yet to be resolved within today's society. Now is the right time for a book like My Navy Too. Who can better tell the story of women in the military -- the challenges they face, the traditions they try to understand, and the equality they seek -- than someone who has "been there, done that?" Movies such as "G.I. Jane" tell a part of the story; My Navy Too dots the "I's" and crosses the "T's." Every day we see headlines about rules and regulations in the military and how they are applied to members of the armed services. Are the regulations which held sway for more than 100 years relevant today? Do they need to be changed to reflect changing attitudes about women, minorities, gays and lesbians in the military? This novel, while fiction, is solidly grounded in the military as it exists today. Tucker Fairfield -- an involved, intelligent woman -- faces challenges, obstacles, love, and "Big Daddy Navy" as her career as a naval officer advances. Her story will make you ache, cringe, and, most importantly, THINK about your own feelings,fears, and beliefs. This is not light reading. This book addresses sensitive and hurtful issues, but in a way that is both balanced and penetrating. It's probably the most balanced presentation of the sensitive political issues surrounding women, minorities, gays and lesbians in the military that has ever been offered to the reading public. "My Navy Too couldn't come at a better time...In the end, the resolution will have to do with profound values that touch us all. This is a courageous book." Brad Knickerbocker, senior editor for the Christian Science Monitor, former correspondent and naval aviator. Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse (OR-D) calls it an account that is both political and personal. "I was fascinated by this book and think it should be required reading for women and men who are entering the Navy or any other service." "This book is strong and has good bones...My Navy Too is a splendid, sometimes astonishing read..." says Darrelle Novak Cavan, professor emeritus, communications, Mt. San Antonio College, California.