 Many of her civilian male colleagues were either retired from service in the Navy, or were unfit for military service – disabled in ways that limited their ability to maneuver aboard ships, which required climbing ladders and stepping through narrow passageways.In order to accomplish work at the necessary pace, the chief engineer of the hull department used some of his female employees to obtain the precise measurements from ships as needed to engineer their defense system updates, such as placement of 40mm anti-aircraft guns.Stern was employed as a civilian.