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ByMichaelMelia The Associated Press HARTFORD,CONN. Thefirst four of the female enlisted sailors selected for the Na- vy's "silent service" began training this week at sub- marine school in Groton, the latest milestone in the elimination of one of the U.S. military's few remain- ing gender barriers. The barracks at the Navy base have been reconfig- ured for privacy, but offi- cials say the first co-ed class of enlisted recruits is not being received differently from any others. The commander of the Naval Submarine School, Capt. Andrew Jarrett, said he communicated to his staff that it will be busi- ness as usual. The only adjustment made in an- ticipation of the women's arrival, he said, was the addition of a few senior enlisted female sailors to the school's staff. "We wanted to have some senior enlisted fe- male representatives on staff who could mentor the young ladies as they move through their train- ing," Jarrett said in an in- terview. "We wanted the young female enlisted sail- ors to look around and see senior enlisted female sail- ors, so they could sort of see where they might be several years from now." The Navy ended a ban on women serving aboard sub- marines in 2010. It began integrating crews by intro- ducing female officers, who already have been assigned to ballistic-missile and fast- attack submarines. The Navy and its contrac- tors are still working out design changes needed to accommodate mixed-gen- der crews on submarines, where privacy is scarce for all, but especially the en- listed sailors. While many volunteers say they are drawn to the camarade- rie, sailors on the roomiest subs sleep nine to a bunk room, with four showers and seven toilets for the roughly 140 enlisted men. And passageways are so narrow that crew members can barely pass one another without touching. As the Navy was assess- ing how quickly to inte- grate the enlisted crews last spring it issued a survey to more than 50,000 enlisted female sailors that found significant but not over- whelming interest in sub- marine duty. Of the 12,700 sailors who participated, 28.5 percent indicated they would be open to volun- teering for submarine ser- vice, according to Lt. Cmdr. Tommy Crosby, a Virginia- based spokesman for the submarine force. The military has been spreading word of new op- portunities in the undersea force. A "road show" led by a special task force toured Navy bases earlier this year to answer questions from enlisted women about life on submarines. The four women who be- gan their training Tuesday at Naval Submarine Base New London are among the 38 female sailors named in June as the first selected for submarine duty. They are part of a class of 79 sailors who are in for eight weeks of training at Basic Enlisted Submarine School. The female sailors, who are in the Submarine Electron- ics Communications Field training pipeline, will then receive 18 weeks of special- ized training in submarine electronics. Jarrett said the women will have the same oppor- tunities as their male coun- terparts. "It will be good for the Navy, it will be good for the young ladies, it will be good for the submarine force," he said. NAVY'S 'SILENT SERVICE' 1stenlistedfemalesubmarine sailors start training in Groton By Brady McCombs The Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY The Mor- mon church — the na- tion's largest sponsor of Boy Scout units — is keep- ing its longtime affiliation with the organization de- spite its decision to allow gay troop leaders. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced the decision Wednesday in a news re- lease. Church leaders de- cided to stay with the Boy Scouts after getting assur- ances they can appoint troop leaders according to their own religious and moral values. The church "will appoint Scout leaders and volun- teers who uphold and ex- emplify church doctrine, values, and standards," Mormon leaders said in the statement. The decision comes as something of a surprise. Mormon leaders had said they were deeply troubled after the Boy Scouts an- nounced on July 28 that it would lift its ban on gay adult leaders, while al- lowing church-sponsored Scout units to continue ex- cluding gay adults. As American culture accepts gays and lesbians, the Mormon religion is try- ing to strike a balance be- tween adhering to its basic tenets and acknowledging cultural shifts in the world. The church said it will continue evaluating and is open to alternatives to the Boy Scouts. More than half of the religion's 15 million members live outside the United States. Mormon leaders have softened their tone about gays and lesbians in re- cent years. Church lead- ers were involved in legis- lation enacted in Utah in March that extended non- discrimination protections to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people. But those leaders have also made it clear that the church still opposes gay marriage and believes ho- mosexual activity is a sin. A number of rank-and- file Mormons are pushing the church to become more accepting and welcoming of LGBT members to avoid losing them from the re- ligion or being shunned. Groups have formed to rep- resent the movement, in- cluding a coalition of Mor- mon mothers whose chil- dren are gay and lesbian. The bond between the Scouts and Mormons goes back to the early 1900s and involved mutual values and principles. As the religion's mem- bership swelled, Boy Scouts became a rite of passage for Mormon boys, with church covering the cost of troops for congregations, known as wards, and strongly en- couraging participation for boys. Some speculated the church would cut ties in 2013, when Boy Scouts de- cided to allow openly gay youth, but Mormon leaders chose to stick with the or- ganization. After the Mormons, the next largest sponsors of U.S. Scout units are the United Methodist Church and the Roman Catholic Church. TOLERANCE By Sadie Gurman The Associated Press CENTENNIAL, COLO. The man who unleashed a mur- derous attack on a packed Colorado movie theater was ordered Wednesday to serve life in prison without parole plus 3,318 years — the max- imum allowed by law — be- fore the judge told deputies, "Get the defendant out of my courtroom, please." The gallery applauded the remark by Judge Car- los A. Samour Jr. as he gav- eled the hearing to a close, ending a grueling three- year wait to see the gun- man brought to justice. Survivors, relatives and a handful of jurors who were in the courtroom cheered and then hugged prosecu- tors and law enforcement officers. Some wiped away tears. Samour ordered 28-year- old James Holmes to serve 12 consecutive life sen- tences without the possibil- ity of parole, one for each of the people he killed in the July 20, 2012, attack on a crowded movie theater. He then added another 3,312 years for 70 convic- tions of attempted murder, and six years for an explo- sives charge. "The defendant does not deserve any sympathy," the judge said. "And for that reason, the court imposes the maximum sentence it can impose under the law." Samour handed down the sentences after a with- ering condemnation of Holmes as an angry quit- ter who gave up on life and turned his hatred into mur- der and mayhem against innocent victims and hun- dreds of their family mem- bers. Samour was scrupulously respectful toward Holmes throughout the long trial and months of pretrial hearings. But on the final day in court, he made no at- tempt to hide his contempt. "It is almost impossible to comprehend how a hu- man being is capable of such acts," Samour said. Samour had no option but to give Holmes life with- out parole, rather than the death penalty, after a split jury decided the term ear- lier this month. Prosecutors have said 11 jurors favored death and one voted for life without parole. Under Col- orado law, jurors must be unanimous to impose the death penalty. Samour contrasted Holmes' bloody assault with the compassion of the lone juror who voted for a life sentence. He also noted the trial was fair, even if some victims were disappointed that Holmes wasn't sen- tenced to die. "I believe in the system," Samour said. "I said that be- fore, and I'll say it again. I believe in the system." The judge said prison is harsh and restrictive, and he disputed some victims' suggestion that Holmes would have an easy life behind bars. He also dis- missed complaints that the trial was a waste of time, noting it gave family mem- bers and survivors an op- portunity to tell the world about their ordeal. More than 100 victims and survivors testified this week about their searing physical and emotional scars. They talked of flash- backs and nightmares, of relentless survivor's guilt and enduring physical pain. Holmes' mother, Arlene, was the final witness to take the lectern Tuesday. She said her son feels re- morse for his deadly attack on a Colorado movie the- ater. She said his mental ill- ness and medications make it hard for him to express it. "We know that is very, very hard for people to see," Arlene Holmes testi- fied. "We cannot feel the depths of your pain. We can only listen to every- thing you have expressed, and we pray for you. ... We are very sorry this tragedy happened, and sorry every- one has suffered so much." Jurors rejected Holmes' insanity plea, convicting him of murdering 12 peo- ple and trying to kill 70 oth- ers when he opened fire on a packed suburban Denver theater. To the end, Holmes' state-appointed attor- neys blamed the massacre on his schizophrenia and psychotic delusions. They said Holmes was obsessed with the idea of mass kill- ing since childhood, and he pursued neuroscience in an effort to find out what was wrong with his brain. Prosecutors pointed both to Holmes' elaborate plan- ning for the attack and his refusal to divulge to anyone — family, friends, psychia- trists — that he was think- ing, and planning, murder. Holmes stockpiled guns and ammunition and mapped out the Aurora the- ater complex to determine which auditorium would al- low for the most casualties. He even calculated police response times. Defense attorney Daniel King has said Holmes will not appeal his conviction, sparing victims the possi- bility of another emotion- ally wrenching trial. APPLAUSE Judge sentences Holmes to life, orders him out of courtroom RJSANGOSTI—THEDENVERPOST James Holmes, center, appears in court with, le to right, defense attorneys Daniel King, Katherine Spengler, and Kristen Nelson, for the sentencing phase in his trial, Monday at Arapahoe County District Court in Centennial, Colo. RICK BOWMER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE A group of Boy Scouts marches during the Salt Lake City's annual gay pride parade, in Salt Lake City. Mormons keep affiliation with Boy Scouts despite gay leaders Call 877-4DAD411 or visit www.fatherhood.gov be a dad today. Take time to AUGUST SPECIAL: Starta3-monthbusinessbuilderadbefore August 31, and get a FOURTH MONTH FREE! Gayla Eckels: geckels@redbluffdailynews.com (530) 737-5044 Suzy Noble: snoble@redbluffdailynews.com (530) 737-5056 Attention Business Operators: YOUR BUSINESS' AD IN THE DAILY NEWS EVERY PUBLISHING DAY OF THE MONTH FOR AS LITTLE AS $3.56 PER DAY! 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