Michelle Janine Howard became the first African-American woman to achieve the rank of three-star vice admiral, as she stepped into her new role as deputy comman...
A black female naval officer has shattered a piece of the military’s glass ceiling. The Navy has promoted Michelle Janine Howard to the rank of three-star vice admiral, as she stepped into her new role as deputy commander of the U.S. Fleet Forces headquartered in Norfolk, Va.
She becomes the first African-American woman to achieve that rank. This is the latest in a string of firsts for Howard, who was the first African-American woman to command a warship, the first female Naval Academy alum to reach the rank of rear admiral and the first African-American woman to be in charge of an Expeditionary Strike Group at sea.
She comes off of a stint leading anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.
Howard decided to join the Navy when she was 12. At that time, women were not allowed at military academies.
Luckily for her and the Navy, that law changed by the time Howard was ready for college. She launched her career at the Naval Academy in Annapolis.
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