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.