Shoshana Simone Chatfield (born October 5, 1965) is a

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 ...

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

, and served as the president of the Naval War College from 2019 to 2023. She is the first woman to ever hold that position.

Early life and education

Shoshana Chatfield hails from

Garden Grove, California Garden Grove is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, located just southwest of Disneyland (located in Anaheim, CA). The population was 171,949 at the 2020 census. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, ...

, graduating from Pacifica High School in 1983. She then received her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in International Relations and French from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

in 1987. After she received a commission in the Navy, she would attend the Kennedy School of Government at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and receive a Master's degree in Public Administration. Admiral Chatfield would go on to receive a

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

of education from the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...

Military career

Admiral Chatfield commissioned through Boston University's

Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps The Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program is a college-based, commissioned officer training program of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Origins A pilot Naval Reserve unit was established in September 192 ...

program, and qualified as a naval

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

pilot in 1989. She's flown the

Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem-rotor transport helicopter powered by twin turboshaft engines. It was designed by Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol following Vertol's acquisition by Boeing. Development of th ...

, Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King, and the Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk while attached to Helicopter Combat Support and Helicopter Sea Combat squadrons. She has commanded several military units, including

Joint Region Marianas Joint Region Marianas' mission is to provide installation management support to all Department of Defense components and tenants through assigned regional installations on Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in support of training in the Mariana ...

and, most recently, the Naval War College. From 2001 to 2004 she was an assistant professor of political science at the United States Air Force Academy. In February 2023, Chatfield was nominated for promotion to vice admiral and assignment as the United States military representative to the NATO Military Committee.

Honors and awards

In addition to her military honors, Admiral Chatfield has received recognition from the government of Guam for her leadership and contributions to the island. In 2009, she was named as one of Boston University's distinguished alumni.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chatfield, Shoshana S. 1965 births Living people People from Garden Grove, California Boston University College of Arts and Sciences alumni United States Naval Aviators Harvard Kennedy School alumni University of San Diego alumni Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Female admirals of the United States Navy United States Navy rear admirals (upper half) Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal 20th-century American naval officers 21st-century American naval officers Presidents of the Naval War College 20th-century American women 21st-century American women Military personnel from California Women heads of universities and colleges