Donald C. Winter, the secretary of the Navy, gave the or-
ders to the US admirals, delineating when to hold or open fi re.
But Winter’s decision-making process was guided by Rear Ad-
miral Michelle Howard, his senior military advisor. “It would
be extremely diffi cult to do my job without her,” he explains,
because “how does somebody who is a civilian, who has never
served in the Navy, really deal with the issues that the Navy is
confronted with? Having somebody provide that interpretive
and communicative liaison is absolutely critical to making this
system of civilian control work.”
Howard, a US Naval Academy graduate, is the blue water
strategist for the job. Employing a non-aquatic metaphor,
Admiral Howard says her job is to “keep the trains running” by
Rear A d miral Michelle Ho ward, center, poses w ith m e mbers of the 15th Marine
providing the secretary with the information and perspective
E xpeditionary Unit. Photo by US Departm ent of Defense
needed to make the appropriate decisions for the Navy and the
country.
they thought. They all thought I should stay in because I had
“The level of engagement he has is off the scale,” she says,
an opportunity to grow up in the organization, and they didn’t
“Somebody has to be the adjudicator of the day, managing all
have that. None of them had equal pay with men. But I did.”
the crises and interruptions and making sure the appropriate
That gave her the idea that she had it better in the Navy,
contact happens and the secretary is prepared.”
Howard says, “I was 27 when I made that decision, and never
The decisions that fall to Secretary Winter’s desk — from
looked back.”
going to war, to establishing a paternity leave policy for fathers
— fl ow through the desk of a woman who imagined a career
in the Navy long before the Navy wanted her.
As a 12-year old, in 1972, Michelle Howard’s introduc-
As a 12-year old, Michelle Howard
tion to adult restrictions came after she watched a movie about
the Air Force Academy and began dreaming about a military
fi rst dreamed of a military career.
career. She soon found out about sex discrimination: none of
the service academies admitted women. “I was smart enough to
Then she found out that the service
ask my mother,” Howard says. And Phillipa Howard, who had
been a governess in England, told her about racism and sexism,
academies did not admit women.
but also advised, “if this is something you are interested in do-
ing a few years from now, I’ll encourage you to try.”
Her mother continued, “If [the military schools] are not
open, you will have to make a decision if you want to sue the
By 1993, when she was executive offi cer of an amphibi-
government. The door may open then, but it may take so long
ous ship, Congress joined the debate over the role of women in
that you may not be the one to get through. But you need to
combat. Questions raised included: How does one decide where
understand that if you go down this journey, if you win, you set
the lines are or who should be fl ying non-combat aircraft when
a precedent. It is important that you open the door for others to
[women] are fl ying a support helicopter doing food re-supply
go through.”
and just as likely to get shot down? “I was on a munitions ship,”
she says. “Mines don’t care if you are a man or a woman. The
A suit was not necessary. In 1976, President Gerald Ford
risk of us hitting a mine was as great as that for anyone else. So
signed a law banning sexual discrimination in admission to the
what risk do we want women to have?” she asks rhetorically.
nation’s service academies. Howard joined the third Annapolis
class to admit women. But the reception was hostile. Of the fi ve
Then Congress passed a law declaring women could serve
women in her residence, one would drop out before the sum-
in all classes of ships. That, Howard says, showed that US lead-
mer orientation was over.
ers had leveled the playing fi eld for what women could do.
In her sophomore year, the Navy opened up shipboard
In 1999, Howard took command of the USS Rushmore,
opportunities to women, and Howard was on a midsummer
becoming the fi rst black woman to command a US Naval war-
cruise on board the USS Spruance, a destroyer. One night, she
ship. Five years later, she commanded the Amphibious Squad-
says, “The captain announced that if anyone wanted to come
ron 7, conducting both tsunami relief operations in Indonesia,
up and drive the ship to come on up, and the two of us women
and maritime security operations in the Arabian Gulf. In 2006,
went. He let us drive that ship, and we had a blast. I said ‘I can
she assumed her post with Secretary Winter, and became the
do this. I want to do this’. And, eventually, I did.”
fi rst black woman graduate of the Naval Academy to earn an
admiral’s stripes a year later. Admiral Howard will continue
Howard began moving up the ranks, serving on ammuni-
to assist the secretary of the Navy through the transition to
tions and amphibious assault ships, but wondered if the Navy
the new administration of President Barack Obama. Then she
would ever completely welcome her.
will become the fi rst African American woman to head a Navy
“At the end of my second tour,” she says, “I went to talk to
battle group when she takes command of the 15-ship Expedi-
women and minorities I knew in the outside world to see what
tionary Strike Force 2, based in Norfolk, Va.
http://www.blackengineer.com
USBE & Information Technology I WINTER 2008 15
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