Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Mike Gilday and his wife Linda Gilday released an updated Women in the Navy (WIN) book and website, March 30.
Now in its third edition, the WIN book highlights more than 300 trailblazing military and civilian women and their accomplishments and contributions throughout the history of the U.S. Navy.
“Today, we are excited to announce the release of the 2023 Women in the Navy book – adding many more faces and stories to this collection of role models,” said CNO. “We take great pride in highlighting each and every one of the amazing women featured.”
“While the Navy is full of inspirational trailblazers, innovators and leaders who paved the way for us to serve, women have contributed to the success of our service in more ways that we can count,” he added. “It’s important we continue to recognize and share the legacies of those shipmates past and present.”
The Gildays began the “Women in the Navy” initiative in 2020 when they created a display in the CNO’s official residence, Tingey House, located in Washington D.C., which started as a display of photos of approximately 50 Navy women who were the first in their respective fields.
They then turned the compilation into a book (available electronically) for a broader distribution.
According to Linda Gilday, three years later, the idea has not only outgrown the house, it has outgrown her initial expectations. She explained, it is so incredible to read about these trailblazers who have and continue to do amazing things for the Navy.
“Be proud of these ladies and all the future ones who will lead teams and work in this great organization,” said Linda Gilday. “It takes courage to go where no one has gone before, and to do it with the results each woman in this book have achieved.”
The project has two listed objectives: to collectively honor Navy trailblazing women, and to inspire not only women but men alike.
The new additions to the book highlight Lt. Cmdr. Amber Cowan who joined the Navy in 2012 and became the first woman to serve as the executive officer of a submarine (USS Kentucky (SSBN 737)); Phyllis Mae Dailey the first black woman sworn in as a Navy nurse on March 8, 1945; Senior Chief Master-at-Arms Markeeta Hardin, the 2021 Master Chief Anna Der-Vartanian Leadership Award recipient, for her leadership and persistent advocacy for diversity, equity and inclusion of women in the Navy; Lt. Amanda Lee the first woman to serve as an F/A-18E/F pilot as part of the Blue Angeles demonstration team; Lt. j.g. Regine Tugade-Watson, a 2020 Naval Academy graduate, two-time Olympian, and Guamanian flag-bearer at the 2020 Olympic Games; and Helen Kim, a congressional analyst in Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV)’s Programming Division who spearheads strategic fiscal communication and congressional testimony alignment and coordination.
You can find the latest version of the book at https://www.navy.mil/win.
