Admiral Michelle Howard is the first female United States military officer to ever become a four-star admiral in the U.S. Navy. That same day, July 1, 2014, she was also appointed the 38th Vice-Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO), making her the second highest-ranking officer in the U.S. Navy and the first woman in such an honorable position.
She has accomplished many other historical firsts during her naval career, including becoming the first Black woman to captain a U.S. naval ship, the USS Rushmore, and the first to reach a two- and three-star rank. When she was selected for the rank of rear admiral (lower half) in 2006, she became the first admiral selected from the United States Naval Academy class of 1982, and the first female graduate of the United States Naval Academy selected for flag rank.
Howard was born on March Air Force Base in California, the daughter of United States Air Force Master Sergeant Nick Howard. Even as a child, she knew she wanted to pursue a career in the military. After President Gerald Ford signed the Military Procurement Bill, which allowed the admission of women into the military academies, Howard was able to attend the United States Naval Academy. She was only one of seven Black women in the school’s class of 1,363 students. She later earned her master’s degree in military arts and sciences from the United States Army Command and General Staff College.
Howard began her sea tours aboard the USS Hunley and USS Lexington. While aboard the Lexington, she was honored with the Secretary of the Navy/Navy League Captain Winifred Collins award in May 1987, which is awarded to one woman officer a year for outstanding leadership. In 2009, Howard became the first Black woman to lead a U.S. Navy battle group, Expeditionary Strike Group Two. Just three days into her command, she rescued Captain Richard Phillips of the ship MV Maersk Alabama, who had been held hostage by Somali Pirates.
Howard also became the first woman four-star admiral to command operational forces in Europe and Africa in 2016. She retired the following year after nearly 36 years of service.