Tag: Navy’s Who's Who

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Who’s Who – Capt. Janet H. Days, Naval Station Norfolk

An Old Dominion University is reporting that an alumna made history on Friday, becoming the first Black female commanding officer of Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval base.


Janet Days is the first Black woman named commanding officer of Naval Station Norfolk,


An Old Dominion University is reporting that an alumna made history on Friday, becoming the first Black female commanding officer of Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval base.

Capt. Janet H. Days, 54, was installed as the 51st commanding officer of the 106-year-old base during a ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk, which employs more than 67,000 military and civilian personnel.

Days, a Chicago native, relieved Capt. David Dees, who moved on to become the chief of staff for the commander of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic.

“I wandered down the halls of (the) headquarters where my office resides and took note of the majestic pictures and leadership boards displaying the previous commanding officers of Naval Station Norfolk … As my eyes moved from name plate to name plate, it was painfully obvious that in 31 years from the day I enter the Navy, still not one person of color was displayed. And finally today, that changes,” Days said during the ceremony, according to The Virginian-Pilot.

She recognized the responsibilities that come with the position.

“I do recognize that my presence is uplifting and empowering … So the importance of that is to be representative, but also to show young ladies — not just African American young ladies — that the opportunities you get are all based on hard work,” Days said according to The Pilot.

Days graduated from ODU in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in business and received her commission through the Naval ROTC via the Enlisted Commissioning Program.

“Her leadership will have a positive impact on Naval Station Norfolk and the local community.” – Cmdr. John Peter Drosinos, executive officer for the Naval ROTC Hampton Roads Consortium

She earned a master’s degree in business administration from the Naval Postgraduate School and the Naval War College command and staff diploma. She also is a graduate of Joint and Combined Warfighting School at Joint Forces Staff College and is a qualified joint specialty officer.

“It is great to see a friend and colleague in one of the most important Navy positions in the Hampton Roads area,” Cmdr. John Peter Drosinos, executive officer for the ODU-based Naval ROTC Hampton Roads Consortium, told ODU News. “Her leadership will have a positive impact on Naval Station Norfolk and the local community.”

“It was an honor and a pleasure to attend the Naval Station Norfolk change of command ceremony on Friday to witness Capt. Janet Days, an alum of Old Dominion University, take the helm of the world’s largest and most operationally complex Naval Installation,” added Robert Clark, military activities liaison and special projects director at ODU. “I know the sailors and civilian personnel who work at NSN are in great hands under Capt. Days’ outstanding leadership.

Days’ sea assignments include tours aboard the submarine tender Simon Lake, homeported at La Maddalena, Italy; the destroyer Mahan; and the destroyer Forrest Sherman as engineer officer, completing two deployments, one to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to conduct theater security cooperation and a subsequent deployment to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility to conduct counternarcotics operations. Days served as the Destroyer Squadron 28 material officer and staff director embarked aboard the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, where she completed two deployments to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. During her tour as executive officer and commanding officer of the destroyer McFaul, she deployed independently to the U.S. 6th and 5th Fleet areas of responsibility.

Ashore, Days was assigned to the Joint Staff J7 joint and coalition warfighting directorate as a military analyst and observer trainer augment to the deployable training team; she also deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan, as the Joint Staff J7 liaison officer to the International Security Assistance Force headquarters. Days completed a tour at Afloat Training Group Norfolk as a combat systems tactical mentor and graduated from the pilot Warfare Tactics Instructor/Integrated Air and Missile Defense course. As the director of Maritime Warfare at Surface Warfare Officers School, she was responsible for training and development of all surface warfare department heads as well as providing instruction for prospective executive officers, commanding officers and major command students.

After a tour as the executive officer of Surface Warfare Schools Command in Newport, Rhode Island, Days was appointed Naval Station Norfolk’s executive officer in 2021. She was also the first Black female to hold that position, according to The Virginian-Pilot.

Days’ awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (seven awards), Army Commendation Medal (two awards), Army Achievement Medal and Afghanistan Campaign Medal.

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Who’s Who – The Women of the USS Ronald Reagan

The USS Ronald Reagan, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, has seen a significant increase in the number of women serving onboard in recent years. Women now make up a significant portion of the crew and serve in a wide range of roles, from pilots and engineers to medical personnel and support staff. The women on board the USS Ronald Reagan are highly trained and skilled professionals who have broken down barriers and proven that they are just as capable and dedicated as their male counterparts. The Navy’s commitment to diversity and inclusion has been a key factor in making this possible, and it serves as a model for other organizations to follow.

The United States Navy has been at the forefront of global military power for decades. As an institution, it has always upheld the highest standards of professionalism and dedication, and has long been a symbol of American pride and strength. However, it has not always been an inclusive organization, especially when it comes to women serving on ships.

That has changed in recent years, as more and more women have been welcomed into the Navy and given the opportunity to serve their country aboard some of the most advanced ships in the world. One of the most notable examples of this is the USS Ronald Reagan, which has seen a significant increase in the number of women serving onboard in recent years.

The USS Ronald Reagan is a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier that was commissioned in 2003. It is one of the most powerful warships in the world, with a crew of over 5,000 men and women who work together to keep the ship operational and ready for any mission. The ship is based in Yokosuka, Japan, and serves as the flagship of the Seventh Fleet.

While women have been serving on Navy ships for decades, their roles have been limited, and they have often faced discrimination and harassment. However, the Navy has made a concerted effort in recent years to increase diversity and inclusion across all ranks and positions, including on the USS Ronald Reagan.

Today, women make up a significant portion of the crew on the USS Ronald Reagan, serving in a wide range of roles, from pilots and engineers to medical personnel and support staff. These women are highly trained and skilled professionals who are just as capable as their male counterparts, and their contributions to the ship’s mission are invaluable.

One of the most visible examples of the important role women play on the USS Ronald Reagan is in the ship’s air wing. The air wing is responsible for operating the ship’s aircraft, including F/A-18 Hornets and E-2C Hawkeyes, which are used for a variety of missions, from air defense to reconnaissance.

Women pilots and aircrew members have been flying and maintaining these aircraft for years, and their contributions have been crucial to the success of the USS Ronald Reagan’s missions. Women also serve as air traffic controllers, coordinating the movement of aircraft on and off the carrier’s deck.

In addition to their roles in the air wing, women also serve in a variety of other positions onboard the USS Ronald Reagan. They work in the ship’s engine room, maintaining and repairing the ship’s engines and propulsion systems. They also serve in the ship’s medical department, providing care to the ship’s crew and responding to emergencies.

Overall, women have become an integral part of the crew on the USS Ronald Reagan, and their contributions are essential to the ship’s mission. They have broken down barriers and proven that they are just as capable and dedicated as their male counterparts. The Navy’s commitment to diversity and inclusion has been a key factor in making this possible, and it serves as a model for other organizations to follow.

In conclusion, the women serving on the USS Ronald Reagan are an inspiration to us all. They have shown that gender should not be a barrier to serving one’s country, and that diversity and inclusion are essential to the success of any organization. As we look to the future, we can take pride in the progress that has been made, and look forward to a more inclusive and equitable society.

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Celebrating Women in the U.S. Navy

Women in the Navy Timeline Infographic

The Navy is celebrating Women’s History Month: admiral says females ‘can do anything in today’s military’ and the Americans for a Stronger Navy is covering the news.

Press reports reflect that in 2023, Naval Station Norfolk gets its first Black woman commanding officer, while the Blue Angels get their first female F/A-18 E/F demonstration pilot.

For the Navy, 2023 has been a year of firsts.

Captain Janet Days became the first Black woman to become the commanding officer of Naval Station Norfolk for the first time in the base’s 106-year history.

2023 also saw former Naval Air Station Oceana pilot Lt. Amanda Lee becoming their first female F/A-18E/F demo pilot for the Navy flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels.

According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, the first women to serve in the U.S. Navy were nurses, beginning with the Navy Nurse Corps in 1908.

In 1974, the Navy designated the first woman as an aviator.

The U.S. Naval Academy admitted its first women in 1976.

In 1994, the Navy issued the first orders for women to be assigned aboard a combatant ship, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.

In 2010, the Navy lifted its ban on women serving aboard submarines.

And although the Navy has yet to have its first female Navy SEAL, a woman completed the grueling 37-week course last year to become the Navy’s first Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewman.

On Monday, a group of female military leaders discussed women’s role in 2023, as part of the Department of Defense’s annual Women’s History Month celebration every March.

“I know when I came in the Navy in 1985, a lot of the doors were closed,” said the Vice Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti. “And now, 10 years after the repeal of all combat exclusions, I can see that the doors are not just open, but they’re completely gone. And I think the question for women today is no longer, ‘What can I do?’ It’s ‘What do I want to do?’ because you can do anything in today’s military.”

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U.S. Navy Band’s Top Sailor Announced

Musician 1st Class Adele Demi, of Colorado Springs, CO.

Musician 1st Class Adele Demi, a 2003 Coronado High School graduate, was selected as the Washington, D.C.-based command’s Sailor of the Year for 2022, according to Navy officials as reported in

“I’m just so honored to be selected because everyone I work with is so hardworking and talented,” Demi said. “I feel very lucky that they selected me out of all the wonderful people who work here.” she was quoted as saying.

Enlisting into the Navy was a career left turn for Demi. Having earned a bachelor’s degree in music education and a master’s in clarinet performance from the University of Northern Colorado, she seemed well on her way to becoming a classical musician when she learned about the Navy’s music program.

When she realized she could serve her country and pursue a music career at the same time, she decided it was too good an opportunity to pass up and joined the Navy in 2012.

“I became aware that the Navy provided one of the most stable, secure and fulfilling careers that I could possibly want,” Demi said. “I realized that this incredible opportunity was out there if I was willing to go for it. So I went for it.”

An enlisted sailor with a bachelor’s and a postgraduate degree would be atypical just about anywhere except for the Navy Band, Demi said.

“This command is really unique in that just about everybody has at least one degree in music, if not two,” she said. “That surprised me at first.”

One of the highlights of Demi’s career took place on March 6, 2022. In recognition of International Women’s Day, NBC’s “Today” show highlighted Cmdr. Billie Farrell, commanding officer of the USS Constitution. Farrell, who assumed command of “Old Ironsides” in January 2022, is the first woman to helm the warship in its 225-year history.

Demi’s band was asked to travel to New York City and play the Navy’s anthem, “Anchors Aweigh,” during the television segment honoring Farrell. When Demi was asked to conduct the band, she didn’t hesitate.

“It was an opportunity that came up at the last minute, as our jobs sometimes do,” she said. “We went up (to New York City) the night before, and the next morning, there we were, playing ‘Anchors Aweigh’ on the ‘Today’ show. It was awesome.”

The Navy Band’s travel itinerary is approaching full swing after being disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Demi said. It is touring the western part of the U.S. with plans to visit Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Nevada and California.

After that, Demi will prepare to join the Navy’s officer ranks. Last month, she was selected for commission as a limited duty officer. In October, she will commission as a Navy bandmaster — one of about 30 in the entire service, officials said.

Barring the unforeseen, Demi plans to make the Navy a career.

“I’m in it for the long haul,” she said. “I really believe in the mission of the Navy bands. I see the work that they’re doing, and I want to (continue to) be a part of that.”

Demi, who last year helped facilitate a nationwide audition talent search that filled 17 critical vacancies, said she’d like more people to know about the music program’s existence.

“We have the distinct honor of representing 350,000 active-duty sailors and telling their story,” she said. “I’m really proud that I’m able to do that.”

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Who’s Who – John Paul Jones, Father of the U.S. Navy

A 1781 painting of Jones by Charles Willson Peale

Revolutionary War naval hero John Paul Jones

At the intersection of 17th Street and Independence Avenue SW, Washington D.C. stands an overlooked statue of John Paul Jones, the most recognized naval hero of the American Revolution. Some also regard Jones as the father of the United States Navy.

John Paul Jones was born simply John Paul in the Scottish village of Kirkcudbrightshire in 1747 and went to work at sea at the tender age of 13. In 1774, as a young merchant ship captain, John Paul moved to Virginia and added the Jones to his name. When the American Revolution began, he was quickly recruited as one of our first naval officers. He quickly rose to command: first of the sloop Providence, then the brig Ranger and eventually the great ship Bonhomme Richard. The Bonhomme Richard was a former French merchant ship donated and rearmed for the US Navy. Jones would name the ship for his patron, Benjamin Franklin.

Jones won his greatest victory on September 23, 1779 off Flamborough Head in Northeastern England. A Franco-American squadron commanded by Jones attacked a British convoy. During the battle, the Bonhomme Richard became locked in combat with a superior British frigate the HMS Serapis. At first, the Americans bore the brunt of the fighting with the Bonhomme Richard catching fire and flooding the bottom five feet of its hold. Convinced of an impending victory, the British Captain Richard Pearson called on Jones to surrender. Jones reportedly replied, “Surrender? I have not yet begun to fight!”

Two hours into the duel, the ships became entangled. Jones would win the battle with fighting at close quarters. After a valiant resistance the HMS Serapis surrendered. Jones would transfer his flag and his crew to the Serapis, after the battle, when the Bonhomme Richard sank from its battle damage. 

Afterwards Jones was recalled to the United States to take command of the young nation’s first sailing battleship the USS America. Before he could return to the fight the war ended and the Navy was disbanded. Jones would go on to a colorful postwar career that included a stint as an admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy.

Tragically, John Paul Jones would die of illness in Paris in 1792 at the age of 45. He was interred at the Paris Saint Louis Cemetery for Foreign Protestants. The French, anticipating the US government would one day wish to return Jones’s remains to America, buried him in an expensive lead casket that was filled with rum for preservation. 

In 1905, after an extensive four-year search funded by the US Ambassador Horace Porter, Jones’s body was rediscovered. President Theodore Roosevelt would have Captain John Paul Jones reinterred at a specially built chapel at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Renewed interest in John Paul Jones led to Congress allocating $50,000 in June 1909 for a memorial to be built for him on the National Mall.

The memorial includes a bronze statue of Jones, 10 feet high, sculpted by Charles Henry Niehaus of New York City. It shows Jones standing with his left hand on the hilt of his sword. The rest of the memorial has a 15-foot marble pylon behind him, with two bronze dolphins on either side shooting water. This part was designed by the firm of Carrere & Hasting also of New York City.

The john Paul Jones Memorial was dedicated on April 17, 1912 which, by happenstance, was just two days after the British steamship Titanic sank. The memorial was dedicated by President William Howard Taft. The statue was unveiled by Spanish American War hero Admiral George Dewey. 

Jones is also remembered by his adversaries. The quaint Scottish cottage on the estate of Arbigland, where the gardener’s son, the future John Paul Jones, grew up has been preserved as a museum. Furthermore, the British Port of Whitehaven, raided by Captain Jones during the American Revolution, decided to pardon him in 1999.

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Who’s Who – Lieutenant James Earl Carter Jr., USN

Jimmy Carter

James Earl “Jimmy” Carter Jr. was the 39th President of the United States. Prior to his presidency, he served in the U.S. Navy and was a part of the team that worked on developing nuclear propulsion plants for naval vessels. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946 and served on USS Wyoming before applying for submarine duty. He served as an executive officer, engineering officer, and electronics repair officer on the submarine SSK-1. After being selected by Admiral Hyman G. Rickover to join his program to create nuclear-powered submarines, Carter was assigned to the Naval Reactors Branch to assist in the design and development of these propulsion systems. He was preparing to become the engineering officer for USS Seawolf (SSN-575), but resigned from the Navy in 1953 to manage his family’s interests. Today, the Seawolf-class submarine Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) is named after him.

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First Woman Admiral Promoted

Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt, U.S. Navy

The Navy has announced that Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt, who became the first woman to command a U.S. aircraft carrier when she took the helm of the USS Abraham Lincoln in August 2021, has been nominated for promotion to rear admiral, making her the first woman to achieve that rank as well. Capt. Julie Treanor and Capt. Dianna Wolfson, two other women, are also on the promotion list. About 6.8% of active-duty officers in the Navy’s highest ranks are women, according to the Defense Department’s 2021 annual demographics report.