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Master Chief Storekeeper Alicia Aitken was a pre-commissioning crew member, plank owner, and the first command master chief of USS Grapple (T ARS 53)
Rear Adm. Annie Andrews was one of the first black women promoted to rear admiral. After beginning her career in 1983 at Naval Station Whiting Field,
Capt. Julia Barnes was the first black woman nurse corps officer to command a naval hospital, when she took command of Naval Hospital Great Lakes,
In 1972, Cmdr. Elizabeth Barrett became the highest ranking woman Naval officer in Vietnam, and was the first woman in the U.S. Navy to assume command
A woman of many firsts, Fleet Master Chief April Beldo enabled generations of leaders to achieve their goals and dreams. Beldo was the first woman CMC
Upon joining the Navy in 1973, Rev. Dianna Pohlman Bell became the Department of Defense’s first woman military chaplain. She served from 1973 to
Juliet Beyler is a member of the senior executive service, who serves as the executive director for U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa (2023). In
Rear Adm. Linda J. Bird, was the first woman in the U.S. Navy supply corps promoted to flag rank in 1998. Commissioned through Naval Officer Candidate
Ima Black enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1943 as a storekeeper under the WAVES program during World War II. She was stationed at Naval Air Station
Capt. Debra Bodenstedt qualified as a scuba, surface-supplied, and mixed gas diver in 1983. In 1984, she became the first woman to qualify as a
A 1985 Naval Academy graduate, Rear Adm. Bette Bolivar retired in 2021 after serving as commander, Navy Region Southwest. Designated as a naval
Master Chief Electrician’s Mate Mary Bonnin earned her initial diving qualification in 1977. She graduated from First Class Diving School in 1981 at
Vice Adm. Raquel Cruz Bono was the first woman Navy medical officer to achieve the rank of three-star admiral, and was the second director of the
A naval officer since 1991, plank owner of the information professional community and two-time recipient of the Copernicus Award, Rear Adm. Susan
A 1998 Naval Academy graduate, Cmdr. Becky Calder served as an F/A-18 pilot and was the first woman pilot to graduate from the Navy’s Strike Fighter
Capt. Victoria Anne Cassano was the first woman to become a qualified diving medical officer in 1985. She completed Submarine SCUBA School in Groton,
In 1994, Gladys Commons was named principal deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for financial management & comptroller (ASN FM&C), a post she held
Capt. Kathlene Contres was the highest-ranking Hispanic American woman officer in the U.S. Navy until her retirement in 2010 after 30 years of
Lt. Susan Cowan was part of the first class of women to graduate from the Naval Academy in 1980. In 1985, she became the first woman executive officer
Lt. Susan Ahn Cuddy joined the Navy in 1942 after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. She became the first woman Asian American to serve in the Navy and the
Master Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Cecilia Daley joined the Navy in 1976 through the delayed entry program as an aviation ordnanceman (AO). After
Capt. Sue Dauser became the first woman promoted to captain in the U.S. Navy in 1942. A 1914 graduate of the California School of Nursing, she became
Master Chief Anna Der-Vartanian became the first woman in the U.S. Armed Forces to be promoted to the highest enlisted rank of E-9 in 1959. In 1943,
Lt. Edith DeVoe was the second black woman admitted to serve in the U.S. Navy nurse corps during World War II. She was the first black nurse to be
In 2006, Fleet Master Chief Jacqueline DiRosa was the first woman promoted to fleet master chief. She served as force master chief of Navy Medicine
Rear Adm. Alene Bertha Duerk was the first woman promoted to admiral in the U.S. Navy in 1972. She heard the news about her promotion to rear admiral
Capt. Ruth Erickson joined the Navy nurse corps in 1936. During her career she served on the hospital ship USS Relief (AH 1), witnessed the Japanese
In 1973, Rear Adm. Marsha Evans became the first woman surface assignments officer at the Bureau of Naval Personnel, while concurrently serving as
In 1998, Cmdr. Maureen A. Farren was the first woman commanding officer of a combatant ship, USS Mount Vernon (LSD 39).
Lt. j.g. Barbara Allen, Ens. Jane M. Skiles, Lt. j.g. Judith A. Neuffler, and Ens. Kathleen L. McNary were the first women assigned to flight
Recruited to serve for the duration of World War I in order to free up male personnel for duty at sea, nearly 11,000 women were in uniform by
Rear Adm. Lillian Fishburne became the first black woman to be promoted to the rank of rear admiral when she was promoted Feb. 1, 1998. She retired in
Master Chief Logistics Specialist Linda Fox joined the Navy in 1974. She quickly made rank and in 1984 was the only woman at her command promoted to
A 1992 Naval Academy graduate, Cmdr. Juliane Gallina became the first woman to serve as a Naval Academy brigade commander in 1991. After serving in
Personnelman Seaman Kati Garner was the first women to become a Navy scuba diver in U.S. military history (1973). After Garner graduated scuba school,
Yeoman 1st Class Ann Geiman founded the first officially chartered LGBT-straight alliance in U.S. military history called GLASS (Gay, Lesbian and
A 1982 Naval Academy graduate, Rear Adm. Katherine Gregory became the first woman to serve as the executive officer (1995) and commanding officer of
Petty Officer 3rd Class Peggy Sue Griffith holds the distinction of being the first enlisted woman to report for duty aboard a ship. She was one of
A 1981 Naval Academy graduate, Rear Adm. Alma Grocki was the first woman from Hawaii to enter the Academy. She served in a succession of warship and
Capt. Joy Bright Hancock served as a yeoman (F) during World War I. She worked at the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics during the interwar period, was
Capt. Gail Harris served as the first woman intelligence officer in a Navy aviation squadron in 1973. In 1979, Harris became the first black woman
A 1981 Naval Academy graduate, Capt. Kathryn P. Hire, a naval flight officer, became the first woman in the military to be assigned to a combat
A computer science pioneer, Rear Adm. Grace Hopper was a programmer for the Hopper Harvard Mark I computer in the final years of World War II.
A 1982 Naval Academy graduate, Adm. Michelle Howard became the first black woman to command a U.S. Navy combatant ship, USS Rushmore (LSD 47) (1999).
Cmdr. Darlene Iskra became the first woman officer to command a Navy ship when she took command of USS Opportune (ARS 41) in 1990. One of the first
A 1988 U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Vice Adm. Mary Jackson became one of the first women to serve in combat logistics force ships in 1989 and then on
Equipment Operator Constructionman Camella Jones was the first enlisted woman to serve in a naval construction battalion and the first to qualify as a
A 1989 Naval Academy graduate, Vice Adm. Sara Joyner became the first woman to command an F/A-18 squadron (2007) and the first to command a carrier
Rear Adm. Margaret Kibben became the first woman chaplain at the Naval Academy. She was also the first woman to serve as the chaplain of the United
Cmdr. Susan Kilrain commissioned in the Navy in 1985 and as a naval aviator in 1987. She was selected to be a flight instructor in the TA-4J, and
A 1981 Naval Academy graduate, Rear Adm. “Peg” Klein became the first woman commandant of midshipmen at the Naval Academy and was responsible for
Lt. j.g. Laura Krueger, a naval flight officer of an E/A-6B, was stationed with Electronic Attack Squadron 141 aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71)
In 1979, CMC Beth Lambert became the first woman to be designated an aviation structural mechanic (structures). She went on to become the first woman
A 1981 Naval Academy graduate, Capt. Wendy Lawrence became the first woman Naval Academy graduate to go into space in 1995. A Navy helicopter pilot
Yeoman Helene Lipman served in the Navy from 1944-1946 during World War II. She said, “I joined for two reasons. Patriotism. It was World War II going
Petty Officer 1st Class Amanda Little was a member of a Provincial Reconstruction Team in the Shib Koh District in Farah Province, Afghanistan, in
Susan Morrisey Livingstone became the first woman to serve as acting secretary of the Navy in 2003. She held many positions in government, including
Rear Adm. Deborah Loewer was among the first women officers to be selected for shipboard duty and became the first warfare-qualified woman to attain
In 1972, Lt. Deborah Wilson was among the first group of women to be admitted into a coed ROTC program and was one of the first seven women who
Ens. Kathleen F. Lux became the first woman civil engineer corps (CEC) officer when she entered the Navy Reserve (1942). Lux served as an assistant in
A 1994 Naval Academy graduate, Cmdr. Elizabeth “Spike” Malecha, a naval flight officer, became the first woman to graduate from the TOPGUN Strike
Rear Adm. Connie Mariano became the first Filipino American woman promoted to rear admiral; the first woman to become the director of the White House
Capt. Rosemary Mariner was one of the first women to enter Navy pilot training and to earn her “wings of gold” in 1974. Her mother was a World War II
Force Master Chief Laura Martinez became the first black Sailor and second woman to be selected as force master chief of the U.S. Navy’s Bureau of
Capt. Mildred McAfee (Horton) was the first woman commissioned as a line officer in the Navy Reserve in 1942. A 1920 graduate of Vassar College, she
Cmdr. Kathleen McGrath joined the Navy in 1980 and was one of five women, including Michelle Howard, Maureen Farren, Ann O’Connor, and Grace Mehl, to
Rear Adm. Fran McKee became one of the first two women to attend the Naval War College in 1969, and subsequently the first woman line officer to
A 1980 Naval Academy graduate, Cmdr. Janie L. Mines became the first and only black woman, among the first group of women, accepted to the Academy in
Lt. j.g. Judith “Judy” Neuffer became the first woman to fly solo in an aircraft and the first to become a P-3 pilot in the Navy. One of the first
Vice Adm. Nancy Norton became the first woman, and only the second Navy flag officer, selected as the director of the Defense Information Systems
Chief Warrant Officer Roseanne Oliveros became the third Seabee woman to graduate Second Class Dive School in 2000. She then completed First Class
Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class Yona Owens was instrumental in securing the right for women to serve aboard ships. She enlisted in the
Rear Adm. Kathleen Paige became the first woman engineering duty officer (EDO) promoted to flag officer in 1996. The granddaughter of a World War II
Hospitalman Elena J. Peckenpaugh was assigned to the first U.S. Navy ship with a mixed gender crew. She began her trailblazing journey in 1972, when
Lt. j.g. Harriet Ida Pickens and Ens. Frances Wills became the first black women commissioned as officers in the WAVES (1944). Pickens, who graduated
Dr. Susan J. Rabern, who served both on active duty and as a Navy civilian, became the first director of the Center for Leadership & Ethics at the
Lt. j.g. Barbara Allen Rainey became the first woman to qualify as a U.S. naval aviator when she earned her “wings of gold” in 1974 and was among the
Lt. Cmdr. Brenda “Raven” Robinson became the first black woman to become a U.S. Navy naval aviator when she earned her “wings of gold” in 1980. In
Senior Chief Aviation Maintenance Administrationman Hedy Rogers-Jones was the first senior enlisted woman assigned to a strike fighter squadron. She
Command Master Chief Susan (Sanson) Fritz was the first woman to become command master chief of an aviation squadron, when she was assigned to Sea
During World War II, Senior Chief Yeoman Norma Schrader served in the WAVES. She was recalled to active duty from the Naval Reserve during the Korean
Commissioned in the WAVES in 1943, Cmdr. Mary Sears served as the head of the Navy Hydrographic Office’s new Oceanographic Unit where her research
Rear Adm. Gayle Shaffer became the first dentist to serve as the deputy chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery; deputy surgeon general of the Navy; and
A 1999 Naval Academy graduate, Capt. Katie Sheldon was chosen as the Navy’s Female Athlete of the Year 2001, and was named MVP of the All-Armed Forces
Vice Adm. Michelle Skubic became the first woman to command Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP), the first woman selected as the chief of the supply
Capt. Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper commissioned through NJROTC at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and became a naval salvage officer. She
Capt. Sara Stires became the first and, as of 2023, only woman in the U.S. Navy to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroic actions taken
After escaping from slavery in 1863, Ann Bradford Stokes was captured and taken aboard the Union hospital ship USS Red Rover. After President Abraham
Lt. Charlene Suneson was the first woman line officer to be ordered to shipboard duty in 1961. Suneson reported for duty aboard the P-2 transport ship
Several Navy nurses were captured by the Japanese at the fall of Manila in 1942 and remained in a prison camp until 1945. Initially serving in the
Capt. Kathy Manley Thorp served for 37 years as a Navy nurse and retired in 2017. After losing her husband, Navy Capt. Owen Thorp, to cancer in 2017,
Hull Technician 3rd Class Donna Tobias was one of the first women to become a Navy deep sea diver in 1975. She asked her recruiter about becoming a
Vice Adm. Patricia Tracey was the first woman to be promoted to vice admiral in the U.S. Navy. She held the positions of chief of naval education and
Vice Adm. Nora Tyson became the first woman to command a carrier strike group in 2010. She embarked with USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77) in the
Shown here are some of the first 55 women to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy. Since 1980, nearly 5,000 women have graduated from the Naval
Lieutenants Victoria Voge and Jane McWilliams became the Navy’s first two women flight surgeons in 1973. Voge received orders to Pennsylvania, where
Terry Jo (Schorsch) Voss became the first woman coxswain in the U.S. Navy. During her career she served on both the East and West coasts, in addition
Chief Yeoman Loretta Perfectus Walsh became not only the first woman to serve in the Navy, and its first woman chief petty officer, but also the first
In 1970, Capt. Jordine Von Wantoch was instrumental in changing the Navy’s policy that prevented women naval officers from also being mothers. When
During World War II, nearly 100,000 women served in the WAVES, many in administrative or office jobs, but nearly one-third of WAVES were assigned
In 1945, these pioneering women became the first Black Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) to enter Hospital Corps School at the
A 1987 Naval Academy graduate, Capt. Sunita Williams is a NASA astronaut. Designated a naval aviator in 1989, she served at Helicopter Combat Support
Lt. Kendra Williams was one of the first women who trained to become a fighter pilot in 1997 and later became the first woman fighter pilot to deliver
Capt. Dianna Wolfson was one of the Navy’s initial group of women surface nuclear officers in the 1990s, and then became the first, and as of 2022,
A 1988 Naval Academy graduate, Lt. Matice Wright-Springer became the first black woman to qualify as a naval flight officer in 1993. She logged
Capt. Elizabeth G. Wylie became the first woman to serve in Vietnam on the staff of commander, Naval Forces, Saigon in 1967. She worked in the command
Chief Yeoman Edna Young became the first enlisted woman, and also the first black enlisted woman, to be sworn into the regular Navy (instead of the
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