Michelle J. Howard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michelle J. Howard

Howard in August 2012
Birth name Michelle Janine Howard
Born (1960-04-30) April 30, 1960
March Air Force Base
Riverside County, California, U.S.
Allegiance  United States of America
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service 1978–present
Rank Vice Admiral
Unit Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans and Strategy (N3/N5)
Commands held USS Rushmore (LSD-47)
Amphibious Squadron 7
Expeditionary Strike Group Two
Task Force Two Zero
Battles/wars Persian Gulf War
Awards Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal (two awards)
Legion of Merit (3)
Meritorious Service Medal
Navy Commendation Medal (4)
Navy Achievement Medal
Spouse(s) Wayne Cowles[1]

Michelle Janine Howard (born April 30, 1960) is a United States Navy vice admiral who currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans and Strategy (N3/N5). She is the first African-American woman to achieve three star rank in the U.S. Armed Forces as well as being the first African-American woman to command a U.S. Navy ship,[2] the USS Rushmore.[3]

In 2006, she was selected for the rank of Rear Admiral (lower half),[4] making her the first admiral selected from the U.S. Naval Academy class of 1982 and the first female graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy selected for admiral. On December 13, 2013 she was nominated to become the U.S. Navy's first female four-star admiral and the first female to be nominated for the position of Vice Chief of Naval Operations.[5]

On December 20, 2013, the U.S. Senate confirmed Howard's nomination for promotion to admiral and assignment as the Vice Chief of Naval Operations.[1][6]

Early life and education

Howard was born to retired U.S. Air Force master sergeant Nick Howard and his British wife Phillipa. She is a 1978 graduate of Gateway High School in Aurora, Colorado. She graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1982 and from the Army’s Command and General Staff College in 1998 with a Masters in Military Arts and Sciences.

Career

Howard meeting with U.S. Navy sailors aboard USS Fort McHenry in July 2009.
Howard gives a speech at the New York Mercantile Exchange in June 2010, during Fleet Week.

Howard’s initial sea tours were aboard the USS Hunley (AS-31) and the USS Lexington (AVT-16). While serving on board 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 the Persian Gulf War, during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. She assumed duties as First Lieutenant on board 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. Sixty days after returning from the Mediterranean deployment, Tortuga departed on a West African Training Cruise, where the ship’s sailors, with embarked U.S. Marines and U.S. Coast Guard detachment, operated with the naval services of seven African nations.

Howard took command of USS Rushmore (LSD-47) on March 12, 1999, becoming the first African-American woman to command a ship in the U.S. Navy. Howard commanded Amphibious Squadron 7 from May 2004 to September 2005. Deploying with Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 5, operations included tsunami relief efforts in Indonesia and maritime security operations in the North Persian Gulf.

Howard's shore assignments include: Course Coordinator/Instructor for the Steam Engineering Officer of the Watch (EOOW) course; Action Officer and Navy’s liaison to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Military Services (DACOWITS) 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.

Howard was the Deputy Director, Expeditionary Warfare Division, OPNAV staff from July 2006 to December 2006, and senior military assistant to the secretary of the Navy January 2007-January 2009.She served as chief of staff to the director for Strategic Plans and Policy, J-5, Joint Staff from August 2010 until July 2012.[2] From August 2012 to July 2013 VAdm Howard served as Deputy Commander U.S. Fleet Forces Command headquartered in Norfolk, Va.

Howard assumed command of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 2 and Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD-4) in April 2009. The USS Boxer was the flagship for CTF 151, a multinational task force established to conduct counter-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean.

Howard was promoted to Rear Admiral (lower half), effective September 1, 2007 and to Rear Admiral, effective August 1, 2010. She was promoted to Vice Admiral on August 24, 2012.

Dates of ranks

Promotions
Rank Date
 Vice AdmiralAugust 24, 2012
 Rear AdmiralAugust 1, 2010
 Rear Admiral (lower half)September 1, 2007[4]

Personal life

Howard is married to Wayne Cowles.[1] She is the recipient of the 2008 Women of Color Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) Career Achievement Award, 2009 Dominion Power Strong Men and Women Excellence in Leadership Award,[7] and the 2011 USO Military Woman of the Year.[8]

On February 1, 2013, Howard was honored with the "Chairman's Award" at the 44th NAACP Image Awards.[8] She is a 1987 recipient of the Secretary of the Navy/Navy League Captain Winifred Collins Award.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Navy document "Vice Admiral Michelle Howard".

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lerman, David; Walcott, John (December 20, 2013). "Black Woman Named to a Top U.S. Navy Job Says Wimps Fail". Bloomberg Politics. Bloomberg, L.P. Retrieved December 23, 2013. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "US Navy Biography - Michelle Howard". US Navy. Retrieved December 18, 2013. 
  3. ↑ Klausner, Alexandra (14 December 2013). "President Obama nominates the first ever female 4-star Navy admiral". Telegraph. Retrieved December 18, 2013. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Flag Officer Announcements". Defense.gov. May 4, 2006. Retrieved December 18, 2013. 
  5. ↑ "Flag Officer Announcements". Defense.Gov. Retrieved December 18, 2013. 
  6. ↑ United States Senate (December 20, 2013). "PN1022". Retrieved December 23, 2013. "The following named officer for appointment as Vice Chief of Naval Operations and appointment in the United States Navy to the grade indicated while assigned to a position of importance and responsibility under title 10, U.S.C., sections 601 and 5035: Vice Adm. Michelle J. Howard, to be Admiral" 
  7. ↑ "2009 Honorees". Retrieved December 18, 2013. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Chairman’s Award". NAACP. Retrieved December 18, 2013. 

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Michelle J. Howard.
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Michelle J. Howard
Notable women general and flag officers in the U.S. military
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.