First Four-Star Female Admiral In US Navy

The Us navy has promoted a woman to the rank of a four-star admiral for the first time in its 238-years history, a milestone for females in the American military. In a ceremony on Tuesday, Michelle Howard was promoted to vice chief of naval operations, the number two job in the service, after having already shattered barriers in previous post in navy. Howard, 54, is known for commanding a counter-piracy task force in the Gulf of Aden that oversaw the 2009 rescue of a commercial cargo ship skipper, Captain Richard Phillips, who was abducted by Somali pirates. The rescue involving Navy SEALS was later depicted in a film starring Tom Hanks.

Howard was one of a small number of women who attended US Naval Academy in early 1980s. But women made up of 25 % of this year's graduating class at he academy, an all-time high.