Michelle Janine Howard,becomes first female four star admiral in US Navy Tuesday July 01,2014

 

 U.S. Navy, Adm. Michelle Howard, center, smiles as Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, left, and Wayne Cowles, Howard's husband, put four-star shoulder boards on Howard's service white uniform during her promotion ceremony at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Washington

The Navy has its first female four-star admiral.

She is Michelle Janine Howard, promoted on Tuesday July 01,2014 to the service's highest rank.

The ceremony was held at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at the Arlington National Cemetery, near the Pentagon.

Howard is best known for leading Task Force 151, which saved merchant marine Captain Richard Phillips when he was captured by Somali pirates in April 2009.

Michelle Janine Howard will serve as the vice chief of naval operations, which makes her the No. 2 admiral in the Navy behind Gen. Jonathan Greenert, the chief of naval operations.

Vice Admiral Michelle Janine Howard is now the first female four-star admiral in the Navy’s 236-year history. 

Michelle Janine Howard has served 32 years in the Navy. She is a 1978 graduate of Gateway High School in Aurora, Colorado. She graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1982.