U.S. Navy Adm. Lisa Franchetti during a tour of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Dec. 13, 2022.

U.S. Navy Adm. Lisa Franchetti during a tour of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Dec. 13, 2022. U.S. Navy / Lance Cpl. Cody Purcell

Franchetti chosen to become the first woman to lead the US Navy

Adm. Samuel Paparo, rumored to be the recommended pick for CNO, will instead be nominated to helm INDOPACOM.

President Joe Biden will nominate Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti as the next chief of naval operations, setting her up to shatter two glass ceilings, U.S. officials said. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Franchetti will become the first woman CNO and the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

Biden announced his intention to nominate Franchetti on Friday, his most recent service chief pick in what will be a summer of leader transitions. He also said he would nominate Vice Adm. James Kilby to replace Franchetti as vice CNO, will nominate Adm. Samuel Paparo to head U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and will nominate Vice Adm. Stephen “Web” Koehler to lead U.S. Pacific Fleet.

However, all of the nominations may remain in extended limbo because of a hold on senior military nominations by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. The hold, which Tuberville placed in protest of the Pentagon’s policy on reproductive healthcare for women, is creating a leadership crisis for the military services. The Marine Corps is without a Senate-confirmed leader for the first time in more than 100 years, and Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville plans to hand over responsibility without a confirmed successor on Aug. 4. 

Biden called on the Senate to quickly confirm his nominations.

“These leadership positions are far too important to delay filling while one senator prioritizes his domestic political agenda over our military readiness,” he said in a statement Friday.

Adm. Mike Gilday, who has served as chief of naval operations for four years, is required by law to retire by Aug. 22.

Franchetti would take the helm as the Navy faces increasing aggression from China, and confronts mounting problems in the shipbuilding industry—from the lack of capacity in shipyards to a ship maintenance backlog. 

A New York native, Franchetti graduated with a bachelor’s in journalism from Northwestern University and earned her commission through the school’s Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps in 1985, according to her official Navy biography. She has previously served as the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea, commanded U.S. 6th Fleet, and worked as director for strategy, plans, and policy on the Joint Staff.

“Throughout her career, Adm. Franchetti has demonstrated extensive expertise in both the operational and policy arenas,” Biden said in his statement, noting that she is “the second woman ever to achieve the rank of four-star admiral in the United States Navy.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who reportedly recommended Paparo to be CNO, said he is “very proud” of Franchetti’s history-making nomination, “where she will continue to inspire all of us.”

Paparo, who has led Pacific Fleet since May 2021, instead was nominated to head INDOPACOM. Paparo took his current role just months after the Pentagon reported that China now has more warships than the United States. Tensions between the United States and China have only risen since, as illustrated by a close call in the Taiwan Strait in June.

Paparo graduated from Villanova University and earned his commission in 1987, according to his official Navy biography. He has flown F-14 Tomcats, F-15C Eagles, and F/A-18 Hornets, and also led a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan alongside U.S. soldiers.

Kilby, the deputy commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, was picked to replace Franchetti as vice chief of naval operations. A 1986 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Kilby has served as the commander of the Carl Vinson Strike Group and as the deputy chief of naval operations for warfighting requirements and capabilities, according to his official Navy biography.  

Koehler, who will be nominated to command Pacific Fleet, previously served as the fleet’s deputy commander. The naval aviator has flown F-14 Tomcats and F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, and also commanded U.S. 3rd Fleet, according to his official Navy biography. He is currently serving as the director for strategy, plans, and policy on the Joint Staff.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.