My mother, Rebecca Sutton, as a civilian contractor was the first woman to sail on a US Naval ship as part of a test team. She began work at a defense contractor as a receptionist and worked her way up throught the ranks to surpass the performance of even her predominantly male associates and coworkers. Her perserverance and hard work led her to the role of vice president before moving on to start her own company in 13 years ago. Some say her trail blazing made way for Naval women to eventually be allowed to sail on Navy ships.