Michelle J. Howard
Encyclopedia
Michelle Janine Howard is an American Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...

 in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

. She currently serves as Chief of Staff to the Director for Strategic Plans and Policy, J-5, Joint Staff.

She is the first African-American woman to command a US Navy ship. In 2006, she was selected for the rank of Rear Admiral lower half, making her the first admiral selected from the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 class of 1982 and the first woman graduate of the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 selected for Admiral. In 2009, Howard was nominated for the rank of Rear Admiral upper half, and assumed command of Expeditionary Strike Group Two
Expeditionary Strike Group
The Expeditionary Strike Group, or ESG, is a concept introduced in the U.S. military in the early 1990s, based on the Naval Expeditionary Task Force. The U.S. Navy fields 12 Expeditionary Strike Groups and 11 Carrier Strike Groups, in addition to surface action groups...

 while deployed in the Gulf of Aden
Gulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden is located in the Arabian Sea between Yemen, on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and Somalia in the Horn of Africa. In the northwest, it connects with the Red Sea through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, which is about 20 miles wide....

.

Early years

Howard was born to retired Air Force master sergeant, Nick Howard and his wife, Phillipa. She is a 1978 graduate of Gateway High School
Gateway High School (Aurora, Colorado)
Gateway High School is a public high school in Aurora, Colorado. It is one of four high schools in Aurora Public Schools.Gateway's student newspaper is and the Year book is The Olympiad.-Performing Arts:Vocal:*2004 State Champions...

 in Aurora, Colorado
Aurora, Colorado
City of Aurora is a Home Rule Municipality spanning Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties in Colorado. Aurora is an eastern suburb of the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area . The city is the third most populous city in the Colorado and the 56th most populous city in the...

. She graduated from the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 in 1982 and from the Army’s Command and General Staff College
Command and General Staff College
The United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military officers. The college was established in 1881 by William Tecumseh Sherman as a...

 in 1998, with a Masters in Military Arts and Sciences.

Career

Howard’s initial sea tours were aboard USS Hunley
USS Hunley (AS-31)
USS Hunley was a submarine tender of the United States Navy launched on 28 September 1961 and commissioned 16 June 1962. The Hunley was designed to tend most of the long-term requirements of the Polaris Class of submarines. The ship achieved several records and milestones in its long service...

 and USS Lexington (AVT-16)
USS Lexington (CV-16)
USS Lexington , known as "The Blue Ghost", is one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship, the fifth US Navy ship to bear the name, is named in honor of the Revolutionary War Battle of Lexington...

. 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)
USS Mount Hood (AE-29)
USS Mount Hood was a in the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship named after Mount Hood, a volcano in the Cascade Range in Oregon....

 as Chief Engineer in 1990 and served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. She assumed duties as First Lieutenant on board the USS Flint (AE-32)
USS Flint (AE-32)
USS Flint is a of the United States Navy, and was named after the sparking rock flint . Flint was constructed at the Ingalls Nuclear Shipbuilding Division, Litton Industries, Inc., Pascagoula, Mississippi...

 in July 1992. In January 1996, she became the Executive Officer of USS Tortuga (LSD-46)
USS Tortuga (LSD-46)
USS Tortuga is a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship to be named for the Dry Tortugas, a group of desert coral islets west of Key West, Florida....

 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 Marines and US Coast Guard detachment, operated with the naval services of seven African nations.

Howard took command of USS Rushmore (LSD-47)
USS Rushmore (LSD-47)
USS Rushmore is a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship to be named for the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota....

 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
Expeditionary Strike Group
The Expeditionary Strike Group, or ESG, is a concept introduced in the U.S. military in the early 1990s, based on the Naval Expeditionary Task Force. The U.S. Navy fields 12 Expeditionary Strike Groups and 11 Carrier Strike Groups, in addition to surface action groups...

 (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 currently serves as chief of staff to the director for Strategic Plans and Policy, J-5, Joint Staff.

GULF OF ADEN (April 5, 2009) Rear Adm. Michelle Howard assumed command of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 2 and Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 aboard the amphibious assault ship , from Rear Adm. Terence McKnight. Boxer is the flagship for CTF 151, a multinational task force established to conduct counter-piracy operations under a mission-based mandate throughout the Combined Maritime Forces area of responsibility to actively deter, disrupt, and suppress piracy.

On Sep. 29, 2010, the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

confirmed Howard's promotion to Rear Admiral Upper Half.http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/one_item_and_teasers/noms_confn.htm

External links

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