Deborah Loewer
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| Deborah A. Loewer | |
|---|---|
 Deborah Loewer |
|
| Place of birth | Springfield, Ohio |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1976 - 2006 |
| Rank | Rear Admiral, lower half |
| Commands held | USS Camden (1998-2000), USS Mount Baker (1993-1995) |
| Awards | Defense Distinguished Service Medal (two awards), Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (three awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (two awards), Joint Meritorious Unit Award (two awards), Navy Unit Commendation (two awards), Navy "E" Ribbon (four awards), National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon (two awards), Coast Guard Special Operations Ribbon and the NATO Medal. |
Deborah A. Loewer was the first warfare qualified woman promoted to flag rank in the United States Navy. She was frocked to the rank of Rear Admiral (Lower Half) on October 31, 2003. Rear Admiral Loewer retired in 2006.
[edit] Military biography
Rear Admiral (retired) Loewer is a native of Springfield, Ohio. She was commissioned an Ensign on December 17, 1976 after graduating as the top female student and second in the class of 110 students at the Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Newport, RI. She was the first female battalion commander at OCS.
From 1976 until March of 1979, she served as the Navy's Pay and Allowance Functional Manager at the Bureau of Naval Personnel (PERS-3) in Washington, D.C..She was selected to be one of the first women officers in Surface Warfare and in 1979 graduated number one in her class at the Surface Warfare Officer Basic Course in Newport, RI.
As one of the first women officers assigned to shipboard duty, then Lieutenant (junior grade) Loewer served in the Navy destroyer tender USS Yosemite as Electrical Division Officer, Operations Officer, Navigator and Administrative officer.
Further assignments included a tour in the Navy destroyer tender USS Yellowstone, where then Lieutenant Commander Loewer served as engineer and executive officer, and on board the Navy fleet oiler USS Monongahela, where she served as executive officer.
As a Navy commander, she served as the commanding officer of the Navy ammunition ship USS Mount Baker from 1993 to 1995 and at the rank of captain, the commanding officer aboard the fleet oiler USS Camden from 1998 to 2000. Shore tours included assignment as military assistant to Deputy Secretary of Defense John P. White from 1995 to 1997 and military assistant to Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen from 1997 to 1998. In September 2000, she was requested for a return tour of duty as the military assistant to Secretary Cohen. A year later, she assumed duties as Director, White House Situation Room and Director, Systems and Technical Planning Staff. She was selected for admiral while she was in this position. She became vice commander of Military Sealift Command in July of 2003.
As the vice commander of the Navy's Military Sealift Command, headquartered in Washington, D.C., Rear Adm. Loewer was second in command of a global transportation agency with a workforce of more than 8,000 and a fleet of more than 120 active ships whose primary mission is to move U.S. military cargo for deployed U.S. forces in times of war and other national crises.
Rear Adm. Loewer became Commander, Mine Warfare Command on January 13, 2005.
[edit] Education
Rear Adm. Loewer earned a degree in Theoretical Mathematics and Computer Science in 1976 from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. She was selected as an Olmsted Scholar and studied at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif., and the Goethe Institute in Stuttgart, Germany. Upon graduation, she earned a PhD. in International Law from the University of Kiel in Kiel, Germany, in 1986.
