A 1981 Naval Academy graduate, Rear Adm. “Peg” Klein became the first woman commandant of midshipmen at the Naval Academy and was responsible for 4,400 Navy and Marine Corps officer candidates. A designated naval flight officer, she qualified as mission commander and airborne communications officer in the EC-130Q in 1983. During her career, she served as the secretary of defense’s advisor for military professionalism, chief of staff for U.S. Cyber Command and as director of operations for the Navy’s Network Warfare Command. In 2011, she commanded an American military force of five ships, 30 aircraft and more than 3,300 Sailors and Marines in combat operations in the Mediterranean Sea. Klein also commanded an aviation squadron and air wing. She retired from the Navy in 2017 with 35 years of service. She now serves as the dean of leadership and ethics at the Naval War College (2023).

Last Updated: 29 March 2023