U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Michelle J. Howard was recently nominated by President Obama to be elevated to the rank of admiral. Howard would become the first woman—Black or White—to receive the fourth star. Her nomination requires Senate approval.
Howard, 53, currently serves as deputy chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans & Strategy. If confirmed, she would become vice chief of naval operations at the Pentagon, the Navy’s second highest position.
The latest honor is not the first instance in which Howard was tapped to become a first. In March 1999, she was named commanding officer of the USS Rushmore, the first time an African American woman had been selected to command a U.S. Navy ship.
Howard told Time magazine that being named to command the Rushmore “surprised people more because of her race” than being a woman.
“For some of the sailors, it was a big deal—not because of the woman thing, but because of the African-American thing,” she told the magazine. “I literally had people coming up, wanting to have their picture taken with me…”
Howard won the Chairman Award earlier this year at the 44th Annual NAACP Image Awards. The Chairman’s Award winner is selected by organization Chairman Roslyn M. Brock to recognize someone who has served with distinction in the public arena.
“Vice Admiral Howard is an inspiration for me and women of color across our country,” Brock said at the time. “Her Service and achievements as a top-ranking officer in the U.S. Navy have paved the way for girls and young women to know their dreams can become their reality.”
According to her official U.S. Navy bio, Howard is a 1978 graduate of Gateway High School in Aurora, Colo. Four years later, she graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. She earned a master’s degree in Military Arts and Sciences from the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff College in 1998.
Howard served on several ships in the early years of her career. After commanding the USS Rushmore, she commanded Amphibious Squadron Seven and deployed with the Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 5, whose operations included tsunami relief efforts in Indonesia and maritime security operations in the North Arabian Gulf.
According to the bio, Howard served as commander of the Expeditionary Strike Group Two from April 2009 to July 2010. In 2010, she was the Maritime Task Force commander for BALTOPS, or Baltic Operations, under the 6th Fleet.
On shore, her assignments have included serving as senior military assistant to the secretary of the Navy and deputy commander of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command, her bio said.
According to Newsone.com, Howard is married to Wayne Cowles, a U.S. Marine Corps retiree. Her father was a master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and by the time she was 12, she knew she wanted to follow him into military service. She attended only the third class in Annapolis to admit women.
