April D. Beldo (born January 18, 1964) is a retired United States Navy sailor who served as the Fleet Master Chief for Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education (MPT&E). Over the course of her 34-year career, she served as the first woman and first African-American in multiple Navy positions, including the first female Command Master Chief of an aircraft carrier and the first female Command Master Chief for recruit training.

Early life and education

Beldo was born in Kern County, California on January 18, 1964. She graduated from Desert High School, located on

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...

in 1982. Beldo graduated from Excelsior University with a Bachelor of Science degree and received her Master of Arts degree from

American Military University American Public University System (APUS) is a private, for-profit, online university system with its headquarters in Charles Town, West Virginia. It is composed of American Military University and American Public University (APU). APUS is who ...

in Management in August 2015.

Naval career

Beldo received recruit training at the Recruit Training Center in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

in 1983. She completed Aviation maintenance Administrationman "A" school in Meridian, Mississippi. She served on board the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63). Beldo served with the Aviation Maintenance Management Teams (AMMT) at Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic (CNAL), and also aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73). In 2002, Beldo was chosen for the Command Master Chief program and graduated with honors. Her first assignment as Command Master Chief was with the destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG-84), which lasted from May 2003 to December 2005. From April 2006 to June 2008 she served as the Command Master Chief for

Recruit Training Command Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes (RTC Great Lakes), is a unit within the United States Navy primarily responsible for conducting the initial orientation and indoctrination of incoming recruits, also known as boot camp and recruit training, ...

, the first African-American female to fill this role. In October 2009, she became the Command Master Chief for the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), the first female Command Master Chief for an aircraft carrier. From April 2012 to February 2013, Beldo was the Force Master Chief for Naval Education and Training Command. Starting in March 2013, Beldo became the Fleet Master Chief for Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education. Beldo served in this position until her retirement from the Navy in January 2017.

Awards and decorations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beldo, April 1964 births Living people Excelsior College alumni Female United States Navy personnel Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Navy chiefs People from Kern County, California