US President Joe Biden on Friday nominated Admiral Lisa Franchetti to lead the country’s Navy, making her the first woman in history to lead the US Navy, and also the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“As our next Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), Admiral Lisa Franchetti will bring 38 years of dedicated service to our nation as a commissioned officer, which includes her current role as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations,” Joe Biden said in an announcement.
“Throughout his career, Admiral Franchetti has demonstrated wide-ranging expertise in both operational and policy areas,” Biden said.
“She is the second woman to achieve the rank of four-star admiral in the US Navy and, when confirmed, will make history again as the first woman to serve as Chief of Naval Operations and Joint Chiefs of Staff,” the presidential proclamation said.
In making further announcements, Biden named Vice Admiral James Kilby, deputy commander of the US Fleet Forces Command, as the next Vice CNO, and Admiral Samuel Paparoa, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, as commander of the Indo-Pacific Command to lead US forces in the Pacific.
Biden also nominated Vice Admiral Stephen “Webb” Koehler to replace Paparoa as Commander of the US Pacific Fleet.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin welcomed the nominations, and said the admiral “will ensure that our US Navy and combined forces in the Indo-Pacific remain the best military power the world has ever known, and will be at the center of our work to project power around the world, protect freedom of the seas, and uphold the rules-based international order.”
Admiral Lisa Franchetti, who is the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, was commissioned into the US Army in 1985. According to his biography, he served as Commander of US Naval Forces Korea, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for War Fighting Development and Director of Strategy, Plans and Policy of the Joint Staff.
She also led two career strike groups and became the Vice CNO in September 2022.
