BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN REAR ADMIRAL : REAR ADMIRAL MICHELLE HOWARD OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY : AMERICA LEADS THE WORLD INB DIVERSITY AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIY :

Rear Admiral Michelle Howard, US Navy

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First African American Woman Rear Admiral!		First African American Woman Rear Admiral Rear Admiral USN, Michelle Howard Rear Admiral Michelle Howard is a 1978 graduate of Gateway High School in Aurora, Colo. She graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1982 and from the Army’s Command and General Staff College in 1998, with a master's degree in Military Arts and Sciences. Howard’s initial sea tours were aboard USS Hunley (AS 31) and USS Lexington (AVT 16). While serving onboard Lexington, she received the Secretary of the Navy/Navy League Captain Winifred Collins award in May 1987. This award is given to one woman officer a year for outstanding leadership. She reported to USS Mount Hood (AE 29) as chief engineer in 1990 and served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. She assumed duties as first lieutenant onboard the USS Flint (AE 32) in July 1992. In January 1996, she became the executive officer of USS Tortuga (LSD 46) and deployed to the Adriatic in support of Operation Joint Endeavor, a peacekeeping effort in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia. 60 days after returning from the Mediterranean deployment, Tortuga departed on a West African Training Cruise, where the ship’s Sailors, with embarked Marines and U.S. Coast Guard detachment, operated with the naval services of seven African nations. She took command of USS Rushmore (LSD 47) on 12 March 1999, becoming the first African American woman to command a ship in the U.S. Navy. Howard was the Commander of Amphibious Squadron 7 from May 2004 to September 2005. Deploying with Expeditionary Strike Group 5, operations included tsunami relief efforts in Indonesia and maritime security operations in the North Persian Gulf. Her shore assignments include: course coordinator/instructor for the Steam Engineering Officer of the Watch course; action officer and Navy’s liaison to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Military Services in the Bureau of Personnel; Action Officer J-3, Global Operations, Readiness on the Joint Staff from 2001-2003; executive assistant to the Joint Staff Director of Operations from February 2003 to February 2004; and deputy director N3 on the OPNAV Staff from December 2005 to July 2006; deputy director, Expeditionary Warfare Division, OPNAV staff from July 2006 to December 2006. She was the senior military assistant to the Secretary of the Navy from January 2007 to January 2009 and currently serves as Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 2. According to NPR, she was the commander of the Combined Task Force 151, a multinational, counter-piracy task force when Navy SEALs rescued Captain Richard Phillips from pirates where he was held hostage off the coast of Somalia. Three pirates were killed and a fourth is in U.S. custody.She spoke to NPR from the USS Boxer at sea. In a moment, we're going to hear more about that fourth pirate and whether he'll face a U.S. court. But first, we are joined by Rear Admiral Michelle Howard, who is commander of the Combined Task Force 151. That's a multinational, counter-piracy task force. She joins us from the USS Boxer at sea. She explained to Mr. Siegel at NPR the goals:  Rear Admiral HOWARD: "Sir, we need to continue to work here at sea, particularly strengthen our relationships with our international partners out here, the other navies. And we need to get focused on what the pirates are doing, and try to define where the areas are that they are working, and focus on those areas."