Patricia Ann Tracey (born November 30, 1950) is a retired United States naval officer and the first woman to be promoted to the rank of vice admiral in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. She held the positions of chief of naval education and training (CNET) (1996–98), Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy (1998–2001), and director of navy staff from 2001 until the time of her retirement on October 1, 2004. At that time, she was also the all-time senior-ranking female officer in the United States military.

Background

Tracey was born in

The Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New York ...

. She graduated from the Academy of Mount St. Ursula High School in 1966 and from

The College of New Rochelle The College of New Rochelle (CNR) was a private Catholic college with its main campus in New Rochelle, New York, but also in Australia, England, and Germany. It was founded as the College of St. Angela by Mother Irene Gill, OSU of the Ursuline O ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in mathematics. She completed Women's Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

in the

in 1970 in what was then known as the General Unrestricted Line officer designator (110X). She later earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

, with distinction, in

operations research Operations research ( en-GB, operational research) (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a discipline that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve decis ...

from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

Navy career

Tracey's initial assignment in the United States Navy was to the Naval Space Surveillance Systems in

Dahlgren, Virginia Dahlgren is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in King George County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,946 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 2,653 at the 2010 census, and up from 997 in 2000. History ...

, where she qualified as a command center officer and orbital analyst. Following a tour on the staff of the Commander of the

United States Pacific Fleet The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a theater-level component command of the United States Navy, located in the Pacific Ocean. It provides naval forces to the Indo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Joint Base Pearl Harbor� ...

, she served at the Bureau of Naval Personnel as the placement officer for graduate education and service college students. From 1980 to 1982, Tracey served as an extended planning analyst in the Systems Analysis division on the Chief of Naval Operations’ staff. She served as executive officer of the Naval Recruiting District in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, until 1984, where she was assigned as a manpower and personnel analyst in the Program Appraisal Division of the Chief of Naval Operations’ staff. Tracey's first command tour was at the Naval Technical Training Center at Treasure Island, California, from 1986 to 1988, followed by a staff position with the Chief of Naval Personnel as the head of the Enlisted Plans and Community Management Branch. She served as commanding officer of Naval Station Long Beach, then the second largest homeport of the Pacific Fleet. Tracey became a Fellow with the Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Group at the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...

in 1992. She was assigned as director for manpower and personnel on the staff of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, serving in this capacity from 1993 to 1995. She subsequently served from June 1995 to June 1996 as commander of the Naval Training Center,

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

, home of a longstanding navy boot camp. Tracey was nominated for appointment to the grade of vice admiral and assignment as chief of naval education and training (CNET) and director of naval training, N7, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in the Pentagon in May 1996. Tracey served in this position from 1996 to 1998. In September 1998, Tracey was assigned as deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Military Manpower and Personnel Policy, the Pentagon. In June 2001, Tracey was assigned as director, Navy Staff, N09B, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Pentagon. She retired from this billet on September 2, 2004.

Personal life

Tracey married fellow naval officer Richard Metzer on September 10, 1977. After her retirement from the military, she joined

HP Enterprise Services DXC Technology is an American Multinational corporation, multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia. History DXC Technology was founded on April 3, 2017 when the Hewlett Packar ...

in 2006 and was their vice president of homeland security and defense in March 2015.

Awards and decorations

Tracey's awards include: *

Defense Distinguished Service Medal ribbon

Defense Distinguished Service Medal The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to the ...

(second award) * Navy Distinguished Service ribbon

Navy Distinguished Service Medal * Legion of Merit ribbon

Legion of Merit (third award) * Meritorious Service Medal ribbon

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: * Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Me ...

(third award)

References

External links