Admiral Lisa Franchetti was picked as the next Chief of Naval Operations, the military’s senior sailor who is responsible for all operations of the Navy and who advises both the President and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Navy operations and policy.
Franchetti is a surface warfare officer who spent her formative years in the Navy serving on and then commanding destroyers before assuming higher, fleet-wide positions.
President Joe Biden nominated Franchetti Friday, June 21. If confirmed by the Senate, she would be the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and to hold the top position in any military branch.
Confirmations of all senior military officers are on hold in the Senate behind a hold placed by Sen. Tommy Tuberville. Tuberville wants the Department of Defense to drop a policy that would reimburse travel expenses for members seeking reproductive care, including abortions.
“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 a White House statement. “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.”
Franchetti received her commission in 1985 through the Naval ROTC program at Northwestern University in Chicago. She commanded Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross and Destroyer Squadron 21 while embarked on USS John C. Stennis. She has commanded U.S. Naval Forces Korea and both Carrier Strike Groups 9 and 15, and the U.S. 6th Fleet, Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO. She has been Vice Chief of Naval Operations since Sept. 2, 2022.
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Biden made three other nominations of senior Navy officials. All four nominations will remain on hold under Tuberville’s actions:
- Vice Admiral James Kilby as Vice Chief of Naval Operations Franchetti’s current role.
- Admiral Samuel Paparo for Commander of Indo-Pacific Command. Paparo’s nomination maintains a naval officer at the head of the command tasked with deterring and, should fighting break out, defeating the Chinese military. There had been speculation in the Pentagon that the post would go to an Army officer for the first time in decades.
- Vice Admiral Stephen “Web” Koehler for Commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet.
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