Admiral Lisa Franchetti was sworn in as the 33rd Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) after months of waiting.
The official inauguration at the Pentagon followed the confirmation of her nomination by the Senate. This makes her the first woman to head the US Navy and the first female member of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. According to a statement from the Navy, the 59-year-old feels honoured and is looking forward to leading the most powerful navy in the world. In the Navy, she is now responsible for over 340,000 active servicemen and women, almost 60,000 reservists, 11 aircraft carriers, over 40 submarines, over 100 cruisers and destroyers and a large number of other platforms.
The confirmation could only take place now after the Republicans publicly broke with Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama) last week, who has been blocking the 'en bloc appointments' of generals and admirals in the Senate for nine months. This has already led to a backlog of almost 400 promotions in the armed forces. Tuberville's stance of refusal was aimed at getting the Ministry of Defence to withdraw the reimbursement of travel expenses for abortions, which he considered illegal.
The stalled confirmations took on a new urgency after the Commandant of the US Marine Corps, General Eric Smith, suffered a heart attack last week. Smith, who had only been confirmed in September, had had two duties to fulfil since his appointment, as the post of his deputy could not be filled. On the same day, the Senate also approved the promotion of Lieutenant General Christopher Mahoney to deputy commandant so that the Marine Corps would not remain "headless".
Further background information on Franchetti's nomination in our article from 05/09/2023
Sources: USNI News, The Maritime Executive
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