Is the US First Female Chief of Naval Operations Just 'Woke Hire'?
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The US Senate voted 95-1 to appoint Admiral Lisa Franchetti as the first woman to lead the US Navy in its 247-year history. Who is Franchetti and why did US President Joe Biden tap her?
US President Joe Biden nominated Admiral Lisa Franchetti to be Chief of Naval Operations in July 2023. However, Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville blocked the Senate from confirming hundreds of military promotions for several months over the Pentagon's abortion policy. Eventually, the impasse was broken and several positions were filled, including the one Franchetti took.
The admiral has been serving as acting Chief of Naval Operations since August 14, 2023, according to retired Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, a former analyst for the US Department of Defense, who called Franchetti's pick "very typical" of Joe Biden.
The US mainstream press largely praised Biden's choice, saying that the 38-year naval veteran had previously led the US 6th Fleet and US naval forces in South Korea, and had also served as an aircraft carrier strike commander. However, according to the retired lieutenant colonel, Admiral Franchetti may in fact lack real warfighting and command experience.
"Prior to making Admiral, Franchetti's career was largely one of paper pusher, training and education, and staff officer/aide/assistant to commanders," Kwiatkowski told Sputnik. "There is a distinct lack of command experience prior to her promotion to Admiral. Once promoted to Admiral, she has commanded in several key locations – but not the important regional ones. For example US Naval Forces Korea (but not Pacific Command), the US Sixth Fleet, a small NATO oriented command out of Naples, Italy, and the 9th and 15 Naval Strike Forces, where training is the emphasis. She has also been a deputy Commander in less important commands, like US Naval Forces Africa. Her only warfighting creds seem to come from being in charge of a submarine-launched missile strike on Syria some years ago, and developing strategy papers for Naval HQ. Of course, she has taken some heat for being a journalism undergrad, and holding an online Master's degree, and of course, has been a four-star for less than a year and a half."
8 May 2021, 00:10 GMT
In fact, Franchetti's bio states that she received her commission in 1985 through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Northwestern University, where she earned a bachelor of science degree in journalism. She holds a master's degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix.
Franchetti's appointment fits the Democratic administration's "diversity" pattern. In recent decades, the U.S. military has been pressured to become more "racially and ethnically diverse. In addition, the U.S. government also promoted further "gender dynamics" that required the appointment of women as senior officers. While the idea behind these changes seemed noble, it sometimes led to decisions that disregarded the real experience and expertise of candidates for the sake of "diversity.
"It was difficult for women who entered the service in the 1980s, especially in the US Navy, to gain operational and warfighting experience on par with men, in part because in the era where Franchetti came up, key Navy command positions, whether surface, submarine or pilots, were off limits or otherwise extremely competitive. Other Admirals considered for this position included those with a great deal more proven experience in command, ship operations and leadership," explained Kwiatkowski.
"Because of all of this, [Franchetti] is considered a diversity hire by some observers in the Navy, typical of the Biden Administration, and I agree, she meets that criteria better than any other. In general, competent management in most aspects of the US Military is hard to find, because the diversity and woke trends have been in place for some time, even before they were called by these terms. Even if a President wanted to promote the most competent leadership, to ensure defense of the United States, there have been very few excellent and patriotic warriors rising to the highly politicized flag officer rank for several decades," the retired lieutenant colonel concluded.
2 September 2022, 19:16 GMT
