Biden chooses Admiral Lisa Franchetti as first woman to be top Navy officer in US history

Washington DC [US]: US President Joe Biden has selected Admiral Lisa Franchetti for the job of Navy’s top officer, which confirmed would make her the first woman in the history of the US Navy to hold the position and also the first woman in the joint chiefs of staff, CNN reported.

Franchetti, who is currently serving as the vice chief of naval operations, was commissioned in 1985 and has served as the commander of US Naval Forces Korea, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfighting Development, and director for Strategy, Plans, and Policy of the Joint Staff, according to her official biography. She has also commanded two carrier strike groups and became the Vice CNO in September 2022.

“As our next Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti will bring 38 years of dedicated service to our nation as a commissioned officer, including in her current role of Vice Chief of Naval Operations,” Biden said in an announcement on Friday.

“Throughout her career, Admiral Franchetti has demonstrated extensive expertise in both the operational and policy arenas. She is the second woman ever to achieve the rank of four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and when confirmed, she will again make history as the first woman to serve as the Chief of Naval Operations and on the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” CNN quoted Biden as saying.

Biden on Friday, also announced that he was nominating Vice Adm. James Kilby, the deputy commander of US Fleet Forces Command, to be the next Vice CNO, and nominating Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of US Pacific Fleet, to lead US forces in the Pacific as the commander of Indo-Pacific Command.

Biden also nominated Vice Adm. Stephen “Web” Koehler to take over from Paparo as commander of the US Pacific Fleet.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin applauded the nominations stating that each of the admirals will “ensure that our US Navy and the joint force in the Indo-Pacific remain the finest military force that the world has ever known, and will be at the very heart of our work to project power around the world, defend freedom of the seas, and uphold the rules-based international order,” CNN reported.

Notably, Franchetti marks another first for the Biden administration’s Defence Department, which has now had the first Black secretary of defence, the first female Army secretary, Christine Wormuth, and upon Brown’s confirmation would mark the first time the Pentagon’s two most senior leaders are Black men, CNN reported.