President Obama nominates the first ever female 4-star Navy admiral

Michelle Howard is not only female, she is an African American



'For some of the sailors, it was a big deal—not because of the woman thing, but because of the African-American thing,' she told Time.com

Howard is famous for helping to win back Captain Richard Phillips when he was taken hostage by Somali pirates in 2009 and is part if the inspiration for the film Captain Phillips starring Tom Hanks



The United States named a new Full Admiral in Washington, D.C. Friday--and it's an African American woman. She's will be the first ever female in Naval history to win a fourth star assuming the Senate approves President Obama's nomination. The Navy announced her nomination in an official release.

Vice admiral Michelle Howard,53, is currently the deputy chief of naval operations, plans, and strategy.She will serve as the Navy's second ranking officer, vice chief of naval operations, just a single step below the Navy's top officer, the chief of naval operations.



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Michelle Howard is the first ever female to be awarded 4 stars in the Navy According to Time.com, more people on her command of ship were more surprised about her race than about her gender. 'For some of the sailors, it was a big deal—not because of the woman thing, but because of the African-American thing,' she told Time.



Although when asked about whether she faces racism within the service she responded, 'Sexism within the service, and racism outside the service.'

'Maybe that’s because we started to integrate the officer corps starting at the end of World War II, as far as race was concerned,'she explained.



'I literally had people coming up, wanting to have their picture taken with me—this is the first time this has happened, where a minority woman has had command of a ship,' she continued.



14 years ago when Howard commanded the amphibious dock landing ship USS Rushmore out of San Diego she told Time, 'Someday, sure, they'll be a woman CNO.'



President Obama nominated Howard on Friday and she will become a full admiral assuming the Senate approves of the nomination

Ann Dunwoody(left) was awarded 4 starts in the army in 2008 and Janet Wolberger(right) was awarded the highest rank in the Air Force in 2012



The Army and Air Force were recently awarded high ranking positions as well. Ann Dunwoody was awarded 4 stars from the army in 2008 and Janet Wolfberger was awarded the highest rank from the Air Force in 2012.



Howard told Time that making her way to the top was no easy battle.



'Men have the luxury of being average,' Howard said in an interview in 2000.



'When men walk onto a ship, on board they have the luxury of being average. When you walk in as a woman, that assumption does not come with you—you need to prove yourself,'she said.



Howard also told of animosity towards her when she first started out. Assignments were kept from her on the sole basis that she was a woman.

But over time, treatment toward the extremely dedicated individual changed. People began to see her as an officer, not as just a woman.



'What’s great about the Navy is that despite the few knuckleheads that exist,' she said, 'there are a lot of folks who are professional, and who will grade you on your performance and not on how you look,' she told Time.



She recalled working on a warship along with another woman who was second in command.'I was not prepared for the focus on it—'My God, there’s a warship with two women in the top positions—it’s going to sink just from their presence.' It was hilarious,' she said.

Michele Howard in 2010 when she was serving as commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 2

Howard graduated from the Naval academy in 1982 and took command of her first ship the USS Rushmore. She says that American's weren't the only ones surprised.



Women in Australia were particularly taken aback to see a black woman taking command of a ship. 'Oh good for you, we need to do this in our country!’they said.



`Well, m’am, we don’t see your type around here,’said the Australian men.



Howard is always willing to take up a challenge and will have quite a bit of work to do as she pivots to the Pacific during a difficult time for the Navy financially.



'The best ambassador is a warship,' she says.

Michelle has had to face 'knuckleheads' in the Navy who didn't think she could do her job but she successfully proved them wrong

Howard has a sense of humor beneath her tough exterior. She told Time that when she was the commander of the Rushmore at 39 one man on board referred to her as 'grandma' on board as oppose to 'old man.'



According to a recent demographic report published by the Pentagon, only 14.5% of active-duty military personnel are women. Women represent 13.5% of the Army, 16.4% of the Navy and 19% of the Air Force. Women account for only 6.8% of the Marine Corps, whose highest-ranking woman achieved three stars before retiring earlier in 2013.



This is not the first time Michelle Howard has been in the public eye. Back in October Yahoo News did a story on Howard and about how she was challenged in 2009 when she was faced with combatant Somali Pirates in the Arabian Sea when she was commander of the ship the U.S.S Boxer.



The ships captain Richard Phillips was taken hostage and it was her job to get him back. Howard spent two days trying to peacefully end the standoff. Finally a team of Navy SEALS shot the pirates on board the lifeboat and brought Captain Phillips back to safety.

