RDML Gretchen S. Herbert is a retired

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

officer who commanded the

Navy Cyber Forces The Navy Cyber Forces (CYBERFOR) was the Type Command (TYCOM) for the U.S. Navy's global cyber workforce. The headquarters was located at 115 Lake View Parkway in Suffolk, Virginia. CYBERFOR provided forces and equipment in cryptology/signals ...

. A native of

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, Rear Admiral Herbert graduated from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

in 1984, receiving her commission through the

Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps The Naval Reserve Officer 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 1924 ...

program. She holds a master's degree in Systems Technology (Space Systems Operations) from the

Naval Postgraduate School Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a Naval command with a graduate university mission, operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. The NPS mission is to provide "defense-focused graduate education, including clas ...

(1991) and a master's degree in Military Studies from the

Marine Corps Command and Staff College Marine Corps University is a military education university system of the United States Marine Corps. It is part of the Naval University System and accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools t ...

(1998). During her early assignments, Herbert served within the

Integrated Undersea Surveillance System Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) was the original name for a submarine detection system based on passive sonar developed by the United States Navy to track Soviet submarines. The system's true nature was classified with the name and acronym SO ...

Naval Facility Bermuda Naval Facility Bermuda, or NAVFAC Bermuda, was the operational shore terminus for one of the Atlantic SOSUS, Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) array systems installed during the first phase of system installation and in commission from 1955 until ...

; at commander, Oceanographic Systems Atlantic; and at Naval Ocean Processing Facility, Dam Neck, Virginia. Additional shore assignments include satellite communications officer at Headquarters, U.S. Naval Forces Europe; executive officer, Fleet Surveillance Support Command; Joint Command, Control, Communications, Computer, and Intelligence instructor at the

Joint Forces Staff College The Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multinat ...

; commanding officer, Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station Washington; branch head, Naval Networks for OPNAV N6; and assistant chief of Naval Operations for the Next Generation Enterprise Network. She also served as director of the Communications, Networks and Chief Information Officer (CIO) Division on the staff of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance. Fleet assignments include combat systems officer embarked in USS ''George Washington'' (CVN-73) where she deployed to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

in support of Operations

Southern Watch Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from August 1992 to March 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of moni ...

Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

and Iraqi Freedom; and assistant chief of staff for Communications and Information Systems (N6) to commander, Carrier Strike Group 7 embarked in USS ''Ronald Reagan'' (CVN-76) where she deployed to the Western Pacific and the Persian Gulf with Ronald Reagan Strike Group. In June, 2011, Herbert assumed command of Navy Cyber Forces at

Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

, Virginia Beach, Virginia. She retired from active duty in January 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Gretchen S. 1962 births Living people University of Rochester alumni Military personnel from Rochester, New York Naval Postgraduate School alumni Women in the Iraq War United States Navy rear admirals (lower half) Female admirals of the United States Navy