Adm. Michelle Howard, flanked by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, left, and her husband
Wayne Cowles, accepts her new rank during a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Armando Gonzales)
Adm. Michelle Howard becomes
first four-star woman in Navy history
By Dan Lamothe
The Washington Post
The ceremony included a bit of comedy, but there was no denying the significance: For the first time in its history, the Navy promoted a woman on Tuesday to become a four-star admiral.
Surrounded by friends, family and peers, Adm. Michelle J. Howard was promoted to her new rank at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. She’ll take over as the vice chief of naval operations, the No. 2 officer in the service. She is not only the first woman to hold the job, but the first African-American.
It’s the latest achievement for Howard, who previously was the first African-American woman to serve as a three-star officer in the U.S. military and command a U.S. Navy ship. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said her promotion is a “representation of how far we have come, and how far she has helped bring us.”
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