Women in the United States Navy
Many women have served in the United States Navy for over a century. Today, there are over 52,391 women serving on active duty in an array of traditional and non-traditional ratings or careers. Like their male counterparts, female sailors are expected to adhere to regulations specific to appearance, grooming, and health and fitness; however some differences exist for example in physical fitness tests due to performance and in relation to pregnancy and parenting provisions created to help support military families.
History
Pre–World War I
Women worked as nurses for the navy as early as the American Civil War. The United States Navy Nurse Corps was officially established in 1908; it was all-female until 1965. After the establishment of the Nurse Corps in 1908 by an Act of Congress, twenty women were selected as the first members and assigned to the Naval Medical School Hospital in Washington, D.C. However, the navy did not provide room or board for them, and so the nurses rented their own house and provided their own meals.In time, the nurses would come to be known as "The Sacred Twenty" because they were the first women to serve formally as members of the Navy. The "Sacred Twenty" were Mary H. Du Bose; Adah M. Pendleton; Elizabeth M. Hewitt; Della V. Knight; Josephine Beatrice Bowman; Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee; Esther Voorhees Hasson, the first Superintendent of the Navy Nurse Corps, 1908–1911; Martha E. Pringle; Elizabeth J. Wells; Clare L. De Ceu.; Elizabeth Leonhardt; Estelle Hine; Ethel R. Parsons; Florence T. Milburn; Boniface T. Small; Victoria White; Isabelle Rose Roy; Margaret D. Murray; Sara B. Myer; and Sara M. Cox. The Nurse Corps gradually expanded to 160 on the eve of World War I. For a few months in 1913, Navy nurses saw their first shipboard service, aboard Mayflower and Dolphin.
World War I
The increased size of the United States Navy in support of World War I increased the need for clerical and administrative support. The U.S. Naval Reserve Act of 1916 permitted the enlistment of qualified "persons" for service; Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels asked, "Is there any law that says a Yeoman must be a man?" and was told there was not. Thus, the navy was able to induct its first female sailors into the U.S. Naval Reserve. The first woman to enlist in the U.S. Navy was Loretta Perfectus Walsh on 17 March 1917. She was also the first American active-duty navy woman, and the first woman allowed to serve as a woman in any of the United States armed forces, as anything other than as a nurse. Walsh subsequently became the first woman U.S. Navy petty officer when she was sworn in as Chief Yeoman on 21 March 1917. During World War I Navy women served around the continental U.S. and in France, Guam and Hawaii, mostly as Yeomen, but also as radio operators, electricians, draftsmen, pharmacists, photographers, telegraphers, fingerprint experts, chemists, torpedo assemblers and camouflage designers. Some black women served as Yeomen and were the first black women to serve as enlisted members of the U.S. armed forces. These first black women to serve in the navy were 16 Yeomen —the total would rise to 24—from some of "Washington's elite black families" who "worked in the Muster Roll division at Washington's Navy Yard...." All women in the navy were released from active duty after the end of the war.World War II
again brought the need for additional personnel. The Navy organized to recruit women into a separate women's auxiliary, labeled Women Appointed for Voluntary Emergency Service. WAVES served in varied positions around the continental U.S. and in Hawaii.Two groups of Navy nurses were held prisoner by the Japanese in World War II. Chief Nurse Marion Olds and nurses Leona Jackson, Lorraine Christiansen, Virginia Fogerty and Doris Yetter were taken prisoner on Guam shortly after Pearl Harbor and transported to Japan. They were repatriated in August 1942, although the newspaper did not identify them as Navy nurses. Chief Nurse Laura Cobb and her nurses, Mary Chapman, Bertha Evans, Helen Gorzelanski, Mary Harrington, Margaret Nash, Goldie O'Haver, Eldene Paige, Susie Pitcher, Dorothy Still and C. Edwina Todd were captured in 1942 in the Philippines and imprisoned in the Los Baños internment camp there, where they continued to function as a nursing unit, until they were rescued by American forces in 1945. Other Los Baños prisoners later said: "We are absolutely certain that had it not been for these nurses many of us who are alive and well would have died." Navy nurse Ann Agnes Bernatitus, one of the "Angels of Bataan", nearly became another POW; she was one of the last to escape Corregidor Island in the Philippines, via the. Upon her return to the United States she became the first American to receive the Legion of Merit.
In 1943, Thelma Bendler Stern, an engineering draftsman, became the first woman assigned to perform duties aboard a United States Navy ship as part of her official responsibilities.
The first black woman sworn into the Navy Nurse Corps was Phyllis Mae Dailey, a Columbia University student from New York, on 8 March 1945. She was the first of only four black women to serve as a Navy nurse during World War II.
Korean War era
Women in the Naval Reserve were recalled along with their male counterparts for duty during the Korean War.Vietnam War era
Nurses served aboard the hospital ship USS Sanctuary. Nine non-nurse navy women served in country; however no enlisted navy women were authorized.Women in the navy since 1970
Major changes occurred for navy women in the 1970s. Alene Duerk became the first female admiral in the navy in 1972. In 1976 RADM Fran McKee became the first female unrestricted line officer appointed to flag rank. In 1978, Judge John Sirica ruled the law banning navy women from ships to be unconstitutional in the case Owens v. Brown. That year, Congress approved a change to Title 10 USC Section 6015 to permit the navy to assign women to fill sea duty billets on support and noncombatant ships. During the 1970s, women began to enter the surface warfare and aviation fields, gained access to officer accession programs previously open only to men, and started to screen for command opportunities ashore.In December 2015, Defense Secretary Ash Carter stated that starting in 2016 all combat jobs would open to women. In March 2016 Ash Carter approved final plans from military service branches and the U.S. Special Operations Command to open all combat jobs to women, and authorized the military to begin integrating female combat soldiers "right away."
Aviation
In 1972, Roseann Roberts became the first female helicopter plane captain in the navy.In 1973 the Secretary of the Navy announced the authorization of naval aviation training for women. LTJG Judith Neuffer was the first woman selected for flight training. In 1974, the navy became the first service to graduate a woman pilot, LT Barbara Allen Rainey, followed closely by classmates Judith Neuffer, Ana Marie Fuqua, Rosemary Bryant Mariner, Jane Skiles O'Dea and Joellen Drag.
Women began attending Aviation Officer Candidate School in 1976.
In 1979 the Naval Flight Officer program opened to women.
Also in 1979, LT Lynn Spruill became the first woman naval aviator to obtain carrier qualification.
Benefits
Frontiero v. Richardson,, was a landmark Supreme Court case which decided that benefits given by the military to the family of service members cannot be given out differently because of sex.Officer Accession Programs
The Reserve Officer Training Corps was opened to women in 1972 and the first woman was commissioned from a ROTC program in 1974. The Women Officer School, Newport, RI, was disestablished in 1973, and Officer Candidate School training was integrated to support men and women. The United States Naval Academy, along with the other military academies, first accepted women in 1976 and commissioned its first female graduates in 1980. Women also began attending Aviation Officer Candidate School in 1976.Naval Nuclear Power Training
While still barred from serving on combatant vessels, enlisted women were accepted for training in the Naval Nuclear Power Program in the early 80s. After initial rating training, this consisted of Nuclear Power School, and the follow on Nuclear Power Training Unit operational training. The first graduates of this training were in 1981. Because all nuclear powered vessels in the Navy at this time were combatants, these women were assigned to either prototype training billets or service/support roles on tenders and shore facilities. This caused some resentment among males in the enlisted nuclear power community because the women were viewed as taking away shore billets that would allow them to maintain a pay bonus based on their maintaining their proficiency in the nuclear power field. Training women in the nuclear power program was discontinued after a year or two because of this restriction on assigning them to combatant units.Submarines
On 29 April 2010, the Department of the Navy announced authorization of a policy change allowing women to begin serving on board navy submarines. The new policy and plan was set to begin with the integration of female Officers. A group of up to 24 female Officers were scheduled to enter the standard nuclear submarine training pipeline in July 2010 – and expected to report to submarine duty by late 2011 or early 2012. Integration of Enlisted females into submarine crews was expected to begin soon thereafter. Initial candidates for female Submarine Officer positions were highly qualified selects from accession sources that include the Naval Academy, Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps, STA-21 program and Officer Candidate School, with transfers possible for those from other Unrestricted Line Officer communities. A group of up to eight female Supply Corps Officers was also expected to complete requisite training and begin submarine service in the same time frame.Initial assignments for female submariners were on the blue and gold crews of selected guided-missile submarines and ballistic-missile submarines. Two submarines of each type served as the inaugural vessels. The first group of U.S. female submariners completed nuclear power school and officially reported on board two ballistic and two guided missile submarines in November 2011. In 2012, it was announced that 2013 would be the first year for women to serve on U.S. attack submarines. On 22 June 2012, a sailor assigned to became the first female supply officer to qualify in U.S. submarines. Lt. Britta Christianson of Ohios Gold Crew received her Submarine Supply Corps "dolphins" from the Gold Crew Commanding Officer Capt. Rodney Mills during a brief ceremony at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility.
On 5 December 2012, three sailors assigned to and became the first female unrestricted line officers to qualify in U.S. submarines. LTJG Jennifer Noonan , a native of Scituate MA, and LTJG Amber Cowan both of Maines Blue Crew, and LTJG Marquette Leveque, a native of Fort Collins, Colo., assigned to the Gold Crew of Wyoming, and received their submarine "dolphins" during separate ceremonies at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, Wash. and Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga. respectively. In 2013, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said that the first women to join Virginia-class attack subs had been chosen: They were newly commissioned female officers scheduled to report to their subs in fiscal year 2015. In August 2016, Chief Petty Officer Dominique Saavedra became the first enlisted female sailor to earn her submarine qualification, and was assigned to.
Surface warfare
In 1972 the pilot program for assignment of officers and enlisted women to ships was initiated on board USS Sanctuary. In 1978 Congress approved a change to Title 10 USC Section 6015 to permit the navy to assign women to fill sea duty billets on support and noncombatant ships. The Surface Warfare community opened to women. In 1979, the first woman obtained her Surface Warfare Officer qualification. In 1993, Congress approved women to serve on combat ships. There were about 33 women who were the first assigned to these sea billets.Timeline of women in the United States Navy
Careers
In the navy, women are currently eligible to serve in all ratings. In 2013 Leon Panetta removed the U.S. military's ban on women serving in combat, overturning a 1994 rule prohibiting women from being assigned to smaller ground combat units. Panetta's decision gave the U.S. military services until January 2016 to seek special exceptions if they believed any positions must remain closed to women. The services had until May 2013 to draw up a plan for opening all units to women and until the end of 2015 to actually implement it. In December 2015, Defense Secretary Ash Carter stated that starting in 2016 all combat jobs would open to women.The former policy set by Congress and the Secretary of Defense, effective 1 October 1994, excluded women from direct ground combat billets in the military, stating:
Dress
- A certified maternity uniform is mandatory for all pregnant servicewomen in the navy when the regular uniform no longer fits.
Grooming standards
- Hair: The navy deems that hairstyles shall not be "outrageously multicolored" or "faddish," to include shaved portions of the scalp, or have designs cut or braided into the hair. Hair coloring must look natural and complement the individual. Haircuts and styles shall present a balanced appearance. Lopsided and extremely asymmetrical styles are not authorized. Pigtails, widely spaced individual hanging locks, and braids that protrude from the head, are not authorized. Multiple braids are authorized. Braided hairstyles shall be conservative and conform to the guidelines listed herein. When a hairstyle of multiple braids is worn, braids shall be of uniform dimension, small in diameter, and tightly interwoven to present a neat, professional, well-groomed appearance. Foreign material shall not be braided into the hair. Short hair may be braided in symmetrical fore and aft rows that minimize scalp exposure. Cornrow ends shall not protrude from the head, and shall be secured only with inconspicuous rubber bands that match the color of the hair. Appropriateness of a hairstyle shall also be judged by its appearance when headgear is worn. All headgear shall fit snugly and comfortably around the largest part of the head without distortion or excessive gaps. Hair shall not show from under the front of the brim of the combination hat, garrison, or command ball caps. Hairstyles which do not allow headgear to be worn in this manner, or which interfere with the proper wear of protective masks or equipment are prohibited. When in uniform, the hair may touch, but not fall below a horizontal line level with the lower edge of the back of the collar. On 11 July 2018 Navy women became allowed to wear their hair in ponytails, locks, wider buns and at times below their collars, although subject to strict guidelines on the matter.
- Cosmetics: The navy prefers that cosmetics be applied in good taste so that colors blend with natural skin tone and enhance natural features. Exaggerated or faddish cosmetic styles are not authorized and shall not be worn. Care should be taken to avoid artificial appearance. Lipstick colors shall be conservative and complement the individual. Long false eyelashes shall not be worn when in uniform.
- Tattoos: Navy policy stipulates that any tattoo/body art/brand that is obscene, sexually explicit or advocates discrimination of any sort is prohibited. No tattoos/body art/brands on the head, face, neck, or scalp and individual tattoos/body art/brands exposed by wearing a short sleeve uniform shirt shall be no larger in size than the wearer's hand with fingers extended and joined with the thumb touching the base of the index finger.
- Jewelry: Conservative jewelry is authorized for all personnel and shall be in good taste while in uniform. Eccentricities or faddishness are not permitted. Jewelry shall not present a safety or FOD hazard. Jewelry shall be worn within the following guidelines
- Fingernails: Fingernails for women shall not exceed 1/4 inch beyond the end of the finger. They shall be kept clean. Nail polish may be worn, but colors shall be conservative and complement the skin tone.
Health and fitness standards
- Body Composition Assessment. Body composition is assessed by:
PT Fitness Standards :
- The PST consists of five events:
- 500-yard swim
- Push-Ups
- Sit-Ups
- Pull-Ups
- 1 ½ mile run
Navy family life
Benefits
Frontiero v. Richardson,, was a landmark Supreme Court case which decided that benefits given by the military to the family of service members cannot be given out differently because of sex.Marriage
Spouse co-location assignments are fully supported by the Chief of Naval Personnel and when requested become the highest priority and main duty preference consistent with the needs of the navy. While not always possible, every effort, within reason, will be made for military couples and family members to move & serve together. Co-op assignments are not guaranteed.The service member requesting transfer to join with his/her spouse or family member must have a minimum of one year on board his/her present command at the time of transfer.
Military couples may not be permanently assigned to the same ship or the same shipboard deployable command. For shore assignments, the couple will not assign to the same reporting senior without the gaining CO's approval. Unusual circumstances may require a couple being temporarily assigned to the same afloat activity, which is allowable at the CO's discretion.
Controversies
Gender identity
From 1960 to 30 June 2016, there was a blanket ban on all transgender people, including but not limited to transgender women, from serving and enlisting in the United States military, including but not limited to the Navy. From 30 June 2016 to 11 April 2019, transgender personnel in the United States military were allowed to serve in their preferred gender upon completing transition. From 1 January 2018 to 11 April 2019, transgender individuals could enlist in the United States military under the condition of being stable for 18 months in their preferred or biological gender.Pregnancy
In her 1995 book Tailspin: Women at War in the Wake of Tailhook, Jean Zimmerman reported that there was a perception in the navy that women sailors use pregnancy to escape or avoid deployed ship duty. In an example cited by Zimmerman, in 1993 as the USS Cape Cod prepared to depart on a deployment cruise, 25 female sailors, out of a crew of 1,500, reported being pregnant shortly before the scheduled departure and were reassigned to shore duty. Although Zimmerman felt that the number of pregnancies was small and should not be regarded as significant, the senior enlisted sailor on the ship, Command Master Chief Alice Smith rejoined, "Just about every division has been decimated by the number of pregnancies. Now tell me that's not going to hurt a ship." A 1997 study by the Navy Personnel Research and Development Center found that female sailors assigned to ships experienced higher pregnancy and abortion rates than shore-based female sailors.A Navy policy change in June 2007 extended post-partum tours of duty ashore from 4 months to 12 months. A Virginia Pilot article in October 2007 reported on the navy's policy decision as a means to improve long term retention of trained personnel. The chief of women's policy for the chief of personnel noted that far more men than women fail to deploy or are sent back from deployment, "because of sports injuries, discipline issues or testing positive for drugs."
In 2009, Andrew Tilghman reported in the Military Times on a Naval Inspector General report noting that, in the wake of this change, Navy shore commands based in Norfolk reported that 34% of their assigned members were pregnant sailors reassigned from ship duty. Since shore-based assignments for pregnant sailors were extended in 2007, the number of navy women leaving deploying units to have children rose from 1,770 in June 2006 to 3,125 as of 1 August 2009. Tilghman further reports that Navy Personnel Command is reviewing the report.
Sexual orientation
Before the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy was enacted in 1993, lesbians and bisexual women were banned from serving in the military. In 1993 the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy was enacted, which mandated that the military could not ask servicemembers about their sexual orientation. However, until the policy was ended in 2011 service members were still expelled from the military if they engaged in sexual conduct with a member of the same sex, stated that they were lesbian, gay, or bisexual, and/or married or attempted to marry someone of the same sex.Women on submarines
In July 1994, policy changes were made expanding the number of assignments available to women in the navy. At this time, repeal of the combat exclusion law gave women the opportunity to serve on surface combatant ships but still excluded assignments for women to serve on board submarines. Previously there had been concern about bringing women onto submarines because living quarters offered little privacy and weren't considered suitable for mixed-gender habitation.In October 2009, the Secretary of the Navy announced that he and the Chief of Naval Operations were moving aggressively to change the policy. Reasons included the fact that larger SSGN and SSBN submarines now in the Fleet had more available space and could accommodate female Officers with little or no modification. Also, the availability of qualified female candidates with the desire to serve in this capacity was cited. It was noted that women now represented 15% of the Active Duty Navy and that women today earn about half of all science and engineering bachelor's degrees. A policy change was deemed to serve the aspirations of women, the mission of the navy and the strength of its submarine force.
In February 2010, the Secretary of Defense approved the proposed policy and signed letters formally notifying Congress of the intended change. After receiving no objection, the Department of the Navy officially announced on 29 April 2010, that it had authorized women to serve on board submarines moving forward.
The first group of U.S. female submariners completed nuclear power school and officially reported on board two ballistic and two guided missile submarines in November 2011.
Admirals
became the first female admiral in the navy in 1972. Michelle J. Howard became the first female four-star admiral in the navy in 2014.Name | Commission | Position | Community | RDML | RADM | VADM | ADM | Retired | Notes | |
1 | 1982 | Vice Chief of Naval Operations | Surface Warfare | 2006 | 2010 | 2012 | 2014 | 2017 | Retired. Highest ranking woman in the US Navy and US Armed Forces | |
2 | 1970 | Director, Navy Staff, N09B, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations | URL | ? | ? | 1996 | 2004 | Retired. First woman to earn third star in the US Navy. | ||
3 | 1974 | President, National Defense University | Fleet Support | 1999 | 2002 | 2005 | 2012 | Retired. | ||
4 | 1974 | Director for C4 Systems | URL | 2000 | 2003 | 2006 | 2009 | Retired. | ||
5 | 1977 | Deputy Chief of Staff for Capability and Development, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation | Surface Warfare | 2003 | 2007 | 2010 | 2013 | Retired. | ||
6 | 1984 | Judge Advocate General of the Navy | JAG | 2009 | 2009 | 2012 | 2015 | Retired. | ||
7 | 1980 | Chief of Navy Reserve/Commander, Navy Reserve Force | Reserve, Naval Aviator | 2007 | 2011 | 2012 | 2016 | Retired. | ||
8 | 1979 | Commander, US Third Fleet | Naval Flight Officer | 2007 | 2011 | 2013 | 2017 | Retired. First woman to command a carrier strike group. | ||
9 | Jan E. Tighe | 1984 | Commander, U.S. Fleet Cyber Command, Commander U. S. 10th Fleet | IDW/Crypto | 2010 | 2013 | 2014 | 2018 | First female IDW flag officer. First woman to command a numbered fleet. | |
78 | 1979 | Director, Defense Health Agency | Medical Corps | 2011 | 2014 | 2015 | Currently on active duty. | |||
10 | 1987 | Commander, Joint Forces Headquarters - Department of Defense Information Network ; Director of the Defense Information Agency | IDW | 2013 | 2016 | 2018 | Currently on active duty. | |||
11 | 1950 | Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel for Human Resource Management | URL | 1976 | 1978 | 1981 | First woman line officer promoted to flag rank in the United States Navy. Second woman promoted to flag rank in the United States Navy | |||
12 | 1960 | Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel, Personnel Readiness and Community Support 1989–1992 | URL | 1984 | 1989 | 1992 | First woman to command a navy training command. | |||
13 | 1967 | Superintendent of the Naval Postgraduate School 1995–1998 | Fleet Support | 1992 | 1996 | 1998 | Retired. | |||
14 | 1969 | 18th Director, Navy Nurse Corps 1994–1998 | SHCE | 1994 | 1997 | 2000 | 18th Director, Navy Nurse Corps. | |||
15 | 1970 | Provost, Naval War College 2000–2002 | URL | 1994 | 1998 | 2002 | Notes. | |||
16 | 1970 | Director, Ashore Readiness, Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.c. 2000 – 2001 | Fleet Support | 1995 | 1999 | 2001 | First woman commander of Navy Region Southwest, 1997–2000. | |||
17 | 1975 | Fleet Surgeon, U.S. Atlantic Fleet 1999– | Medical Corps | 1997 | 2000 | 2003 | First female physician to become a flag officer in the military. | |||
18 | 1971 | Program Director, Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense 2003–2005 | Engineering Duty Officer | 1996 | 2001 | 2005 | Retired. | |||
19 | 1975 | Chief of Staff, Chief of Naval Operations, N093R, Washington, D.C. | SHCE | 1997 | 2001 | 2002 | Retired. 1st female two-star in the Reserves. | |||
20 | 1973 | Deputy Surgeon General of the Navy/ Vice Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery 2002–2005 | SHCE | 1998 | 2001 | 2005 | 19th Director of the Navy Nurse Corps from August 1998 to August 2001. First Nurse Corps officer to be assigned to the position of Deputy Surgeon General of the Navy. | |||
21 | 1974 | Commander, Navy Region Southeast | Fleet Support | 1999 | 2002 | 2005 | Retired. | |||
22 | 1974 | Director, Supply, Ordnance and Logistics Operations Division, N41 2003–2005 | Supply Corps | 1999 | 2002? | 2005 | Retired. | |||
23 | 1973 | Deputy Chief for Reserve Affairs at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery 2005–2006? | SHCE | 2001 | 2004 | 2006 | Retired. | |||
24 | 1972 | Senior Health Care Executive Regional Director, TRICARE Regional Office – West | SHCE | 2003 | 2004 | Retired.20th Director of the Navy Nurse Corps. | ||||
25 | 1974 | Commander, Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command | URL | 2001 | 2005 | Retired. | ||||
26 | 1978 | Director, National Maritime Intelligence Center | Reserve | 2003 | 2006 | ? | Retired. | |||
27 | 1976 | Vice Commander, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, Commander, Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group | Reserve | 2003 | 2006 | 2009 | Retired | |||
28 | 1977 | Vice Director, Defense Information Systems Agency | URL | 2003 | 2006 | ? | Retired. First woman to Command the JTF-GNO, after serving as its Deputy Commander. First woman Vice Director at DISA. | |||
29 | 1974 | Commander, Navy Medicine West, Naval Medical Center San Diego | Nurse Corps | 2004 | 2009 | 2010 | Retired. 21st Director of the Navy Nurse Corps. | |||
30 | 1980 | deputy director, TRICARE Management Activity | Medical | 2004 | 2009 | Retired. | ||||
31 | 1977 | Commander, Navy Warfare Development Command, Norfolk | Reserve | 2004 | 2008 | 2011 | Retired. First female naval aviator promoted to Flag rank. | |||
32 | 1973 | Deputy Surgeon General of Navy Medicine | Nurse Corps | 2003 | 2008 | Retired. 22nd Director of the Navy Nurse Corps. | ||||
33 | 1978 | Director, Inter-American Defense College | URL | 2005 | 2007 | Retired. | ||||
34 | 1979 | Director, Supply, Ordnance and Logistics Operations Division | Supply Corps | 2006 | 2009 | Retired. | ||||
35 | 1980 | Vice Director for C4 Systems | URL, then Information Professional | 2006 | 2009 | 2012 | Retired. | |||
36 | 1981 | Director, Navy Nurse Corps | Nurse Corps | 2008 | 2010 | Retired. 23rd Director of the Navy Nurse Corps | ||||
37 | 1981 | Commander, Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group | Reserve, Supply Corps | 2007 | 2010 | Retired. | ||||
38 | 1980 | Director, Total Force Requirements Division | Navy Human Resources Officer | 2008 | 2011 | Retired. | ||||
39 | 1981 | Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Defense for Military Professionalism | Naval Flight Officer | 2008 | 2011 | 2017 | 82nd Commandant of Midshipmen, USNA – first woman. | |||
40 | 1980 | Senior Advisor for Space to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance | Reserve | 2007 | 2012 | Retired. | ||||
41 | 1982 | Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Chief of Civil Engineers | CEC | 2010 | 2012 | First female CEC admiral. | ||||
42 | 1983 | Director, National Maritime Intelligence-Integration Office, Commander, Office of Naval Intelligence | Intelligence | 2009 | 2012 | Currently on active duty. | ||||
43 | 1982 | Deputy Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Deputy Chief of Civil Engineers | CEC | 2010 | 2013 | Currently on active duty. | ||||
44 | 1984 | Deputy Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Wounded, Ill and Injured | Dental Corps | 2010 | 2013 | 2017 | Retired. Chief of the Naval Dental Corps, 2010 – 2017. | |||
45 | 1985 | Deputy Director, Contingency Contracting, Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy, OSD | Supply Corps | 2011 | 2014 | Currently on active duty. | ||||
46 | 1983 | Deputy Judge Advocate General | JAG | 2012 | 2014 | Currently serving. | ||||
47 | 1979 | Director Inter-American Defense College | EOD | 2010 | 2014 | Retired Aug 2018. | ||||
48 | 1980 | Commander, Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group | Supply Corps | 2011 | 2014 | Currently on active duty. | ||||
49 | 1981 | Chief of Staff, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery | Nurse Corps | 2011 | 2014 | Currently on active duty. | ||||
50 | 1986 | Chaplain of the United States Marine Corps, deputy chief of Navy Chaplains | Chaplain Corps | 2010 | 2014 | 18th Chaplain of the USMC, first female chaplain at USNA. | ||||
51 | 1943 | Director Navy Nurse Corps 1970–1975 | Nurse Corps | 1972 | 1975 | First female admiral in the United States Navy. Director Navy Nurse Corps 1970–1975. | ||||
52 | 1951 | Director, Navy Nurse Corps 1975–1979 | Nurse Corps | 1975 | 1979? | Director, Navy Nurse Corps. | ||||
53 | 1951 | 14th Director, Navy Nurse Corps 1979–1983 | Nurse Corps | 1979 | 1983 | 14th Director, Navy Nurse Corps. | ||||
54 | 1953 | Commander, Naval Training Center Orlando | URL | 1981 | 1983? | Second woman line officer selected for flag rank. | ||||
55 | 1944 | Head, Training and Technology Directorate/Special Advisor to the Commander, Naval Data Automation Command | URL? | 1983 | 1986 | Co-inventor of COBOL. Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer named for RADM Hopper. | ||||
56 | 1951 | 15th Director, Navy Nurse Corps 1983–1987 | Nurse Corps | 1983 | 1987 | Retired. 15th Director, Navy Nurse Corps. | ||||
57 | 1959 | 16th Director, Navy Nurse Corps 1987–1991 | Nurse Corps | 1987 | 1991 | Retired. Director, Navy Nurse Corps. | ||||
58 | 1964 | Commander, Naval Base Philadelphia −1994 | URL | 1988 | 1994 | Retired. First woman to command a naval base. | ||||
59 | 1966 | 17th Director, Navy Nurse Corps 1991–1994 | Nurse Corps | 1991 | 1994 | Retired. 17th Director, Navy Nurse Corps. | ||||
60 | 1964 | Reserve Nurse Corps | 1990 | 1995 | Retired. First Reserve flag officer for Navy Nurse Corps. | |||||
61 | 1963 | Commander, Naval Space Command, Dahlgren, VA 1995–1997 | Fleet Support | 1993 | 1997 | Retired. | ||||
62 | 1962 | Deputy Director of the Navy Nurse Corps for Reserve Affairs | Reserve Nurse Corps | 1994 | 1997 | retired. | ||||
63 | ???? | Director, On-Site Inspection Directorate 1998–2000 | Fleet Support | 1996 | 2000 | Retired. | ||||
64 | 1973 | Director, Information Transfer Division for the Space, Information Warfare, Command and Control Directorate ?-2001 | URL | 1998 | 2001 | Retired. First African-American woman to achieve flag rank. | ||||
65 | 1967 | Deputy Commander, Navy Personnel Command | Reserve, Fleet Support | 1998 | 2002 | Retired. | ||||
66 | 1977 | White House Physician | Medical Corps | 2000 | 2001 | Retired. First Filipino-American flag officer. | ||||
67 | 1973 | Director of Intelligence, J2, U.S. Joint Forces Command | Intelligence | 2000 | 2005 | Retired. First Director, Navy Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance, FORCEnet. First female Intel officer selected for flag rank in the United States Navy. | ||||
68 | 1977 | Senior Health Care Executive, U.S. Navy Commander, Navy Medicine Support Command | Dental Corps | 2003 | 2008? | Retired. First female Chief of the Naval Dental Corps, 2003–2007. | ||||
69 | 1976 | Commander, Mine Warfare Command 2005–2006 | Surface Warfare | 2003 | 2007 | Retired. First warfare-qualified woman selected for flag rank in the United States Navy. | ||||
70 | 1980 | Deputy Commander, Navy Medicine National Capital Area | Reserve | 2007 | Retired. | |||||
71 | 1984 | Director, Systems Engineering National Reconnaissance Office; Commander, SPAWAR Space Field Activity, PEO for Space Systems, USN | URL | 2008 | Retired. | |||||
72 | 1982 | Director, Medical Service Corps, Commander, Navy Medicine Support Command, Jacksonville, Florida | MSC | 2009 | Retired. 16th director of the Medical Service Corps | |||||
73 | 1981 | Deputy Commander, Navy Recruiting Command | URL | 2009 | Retired. | |||||
74 | ? | Commander, Navy Cyber Forces | URL | 2009 | Currently on active duty. | |||||
75 | 1983 | Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group Two | Surface Warfare | 2010 | Retired. | |||||
76 | 1984 | Assistant Chief of Naval Operations, Next Generation Enterprise Network | URL | 2010 | Retired. | |||||
77 | 1987 | Fleet Surgeon, Third Fleet | NNC | 2010 | Retired. | |||||
78 | 1981 | Deputy Commander, Naval Expeditionary Combat Command | URL | 2011 | Currently on active duty. | |||||
79 | ?? | Commander, Navy Recruiting Command | Navy Human Resources Officer | 2011 | Currently on active duty. | |||||
80 | 1983 | Program Executive Officer for Air ASW, Assault & Special Mission Programs, PEO | AMDO | 2011 | Currently on active duty. | |||||
81 | 1988 | Deputy Commander, Navy Medicine East | Nurse Corps | 2013 | Currently on active duty. | |||||
82 | Commander, Navy Region Southwest | EOD/ Diving & Salvage | 2013 | Currently on active duty. | ||||||
83 | Deputy Chief of Staff, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Deputy Chief, Navy Reserve Dental Corps | Dental Corps | 2013 | Currently on active duty. | ||||||
84 | 1985 | Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Korea, Commander, U.S. Navy Region Korea | SWO | 2013 | Currently on active duty. | |||||
85 | 1981 | Deputy Chief of Staff for Fleet Maintenance, Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet | Reserve EDO | 2013 | Currently serving. | |||||
86 | Commander, Defense Contract Management Agency International | Reserve Supply Corps | 2013 | Currently serving. | ||||||
88 | 1985 | Reserve Deputy, Military Personnel Plans & Policy N13R | HR | 2013 | Currently serving. | |||||
89 | 1985 | Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific, Commander, Task Force 73, Singapore Area Coordinator | SWO | 2013 | Currently on active duty. | |||||
90 | 1989 | Chief of Information | PAO | 2016 | Retired August 2017. | |||||
91 | 1989 | Cyber Security Division Director/Deputy Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer | IDWO | 2017 | Currently on active duty. | |||||
92 | 1962 | Helicopter captain, HC-3, Naval Air Force Pacific, | HC-3 | Retired | ||||||
93 | 19?? | Deputy Director of Intelligence, U.S. Forces Afghanistan/Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Headquarters Resolute Support | Currently on active duty. | |||||||
94 | Linda Wackerman | 1986 | First female C9 Squadron CO, VR52; Commander of NEPLO Program; Deputy Director OPNAV N81; Deputy Commander Navy IG; Deputy Commander USNAVSO and US FOURTH Fleet | Naval Aviator | 2014 | 2018 | Retired from USN and Pilot for American Airlines |
Bibliographies
- , a bibliography compiled in 1998 by Diana Simpson, Bibliographer, Air University Library, Maxwell AFB.
- from the Naval Historical Center.
- , selected bibliography of resources available in the Naval Academy's Nimitz Library.
- on women in the military from the Women in Military Service for America Memorial