Rear Adm. Deborah A. Loewer
Rear Adm. Loewer was among the first women officers to be selected for shipboard duty and became the first warfare-qualified woman to attain flag rank (2003). She attended the Surface Warfare Basic Course in 1979, and graduated first in her class. She served aboard USS Yosemite (AD 19), USS Yellowstone (AD 1), and USS Monongahela (AO 178). She commanded USS Mount Baker (AE 34) (1993), USS Camden (AOE 2) (1998) and Mine Warfare Command (2005). She went on to serve as the director of the White House Situation Room during the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She became vice commander of the Military Sealift Command in 2003, which made her second-in-command of the global transportation agency with a workforce of more than 8,000 and a fleet of more than 120 active ships whose primary mission is to move U.S. military cargo for deployed U.S. forces. Loewer retired from the Navy in 2007.