Women have served as soldiers during the American Revolution and Civil War, as nurses in World War I, and as combat helicopter pilots in Afghanistan.
Currently, there are over two million women Veterans living in the United States and Puerto Rico. Recently, Women of Color STEM marked Women Veterans Recognition Day by sharing a historic photo of the first three Black female admirals in the Navy.
Admiral Michelle Howard, Rear Admiral Annie Andrews, and Rear Admiral Lillian Fishburne are the first three African-American female admirals in the Navy.
Lillian Fishburne was the first African American woman to become a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. She is one of only 61 African Americans who has achieved the honor of being a flag officer in the United States Navy. Fishburne was officially promoted to rear admiral on February 1, 1998. Rear Admiral Fishburne retired from the Navy in February 2001.
As a Navy Human Resources officer, Rear Adm. Annie Andrews was assigned workforce, personnel, training, and education. Andrews assumed command of the Navy Recruiting Command on August 29, 2013.
Before that, she served as commanding officer of the Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes. During her tour, she led the training efforts of over 100,000 Sailors for duty in the Fleet and was instrumental in commissioning the Navy's only immersive simulator trainer, the USS Trayer, also known as Battle Stations 21.
On November 1, 2015, Andrews began her federal career in the Federal Aviation Administration after a 32-year career in the Navy. She provides executive leadership for HR programs and policies, operations, employee and labor relations, corporate learning and development, employee safety, and worker's compensation.
Admiral Michelle Howard was the first four-star woman in Navy history. She achieved many firsts throughout her naval career. She was the first Black woman to command a U.S. Navy ship and the first to perform two- and three-star ranks.
In 2006, she was selected for the rank of Rear Admiral (lower half), making her the first admiral chosen from the Naval Academy class of 1982 and the first female graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy selected for flag rank.
On July 1, 2014, Howard became the first woman to become a four-star admiral. As the 38th Vice Chief of Naval Operations, which she began that same day, she was the first African American woman to hold that post.
Howard also became the first female four-star admiral to command operational forces when she assumed command of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and U.S. Naval Forces Africa.
Howard graduated from Gateway High School in Aurora, Colorado in 1978. She graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1982 and the Army's Command and General Staff College in 1998 with a master's in military arts and sciences.
Howard's initial sea tours were aboard the USS Hunley and USS Lexington. While serving aboard 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.
