Nora Wingfield Tyson (born 1957) 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 ...

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

. In 2015, she was installed as commander of the Third Fleet, making her the first woman to lead a United States Navy ship fleet. She retired from service in 2017.Third Fleet Change of Command, September 16, 2017, U.S. Navy release

/ref> Tyson previously served as the commander of

Carrier Strike Group Two Carrier Strike Group 2 (CSG-2 or COMCARSTRKGRU 2) is a U.S. Navy carrier strike group, tracing its history originally to 1931. The aircraft carrier is the strike group's current flagship. As of Aug 2020, other units assigned to Carrier Strike ...

, from July 29, 2010 to January 12, 2012; she was the first female commander of a United States Navy

Carrier Strike Group A carrier strike group (CSG) is a type of carrier battle group of the United States Navy. It is an operational formation composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, usually an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer Squadron (naval), squad ...

. She then served as Vice Director of the

Joint Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense, ...

beginning in February 2012.Flag Officer Announcements
U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs), January 19, 2012. In July 2013 she was promoted to vice admiral and named as Deputy Commander,

United States Fleet Forces Command The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFFC) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Sta ...

Education

A native of

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, Nora Wingfield Tyson attended St. Mary's Episcopal School, graduating in 1975. Tyson graduated from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

in 1979, majoring in English. Later that year, she attended

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and Enlisted rank, enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a Commission (document), commission as Commissioned officer, officers in the armed forces of a country. H ...

and was commissioned into the

in December 1979. In 1995, Tyson earned her

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in National Security and Strategic Affairs from 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 associa ...

Naval career

After a tour in

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, Tyson became a Naval Flight Officer in 1983. She then served three tours in Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron Four (VQ-4) in both

Naval Air Station Patuxent River Naval Air Station Patuxent River , also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station in St. Mary’s County, Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River. It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Systems Comm ...

and

Tinker Air Force Base Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, adjacent to Del City and Midwest City. The ba ...

, one of which as a commanding officer. Ashore, she served as airborne communications officer course instructor and officer-in-charge at Naval Air Maintenance Training Detachment 1079, NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. Other shore duty assignments included serving as a political-military planner and assistant in the Asia-Pacific Division of the Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate for the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and ...

, the Director of Staff for the Commander of Naval Forces Europe, and an executive assistant to the

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the highest-ranking officer of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an Admiral (United States), admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the United States Secretary ...

. Sea duty for Tyson included serving as a navigator aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the operations officer on the training aircraft carrier . Later, Captain Tyson commanded the amphibious assault ship during a time when the ship provided support for

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

relief, as well as undertaking two deployments 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

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

. In September 2007, Tyson was promoted to rear admiral (lower half) and took command of

Task Force 73 Task Force 73/Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific (CTF 73/CLWP) is a U.S. Navy task force of the United States Seventh Fleet that is based in Singapore. CTF 73/CLWP is the U.S. 7th Fleet's provider of combat-ready logistics, maintaining and ...

in Singapore. On July 29, 2010, Tyson assumed command of

, with the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier as its flagship, becoming the first woman to command a United States Navy aircraft carrier task group. During the ceremony, she stated, "As far as the trailblazing piece, I understand I am the first woman on the job ... but I'm a professional just like my fellow officers are, and my fellow strike group commanders." Carrier Strike Group Two completed its

Composite Unit Training Exercise COMPTUEX, or Composite Training Unit Exercise, is a rehearsal each US Navy Carrier Strike Group performs before departing for deployment. Each ship and aircraft in the battle group trains in its specialty; COMPTUEX brings ships together to project ...

and Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) predeployment underway training cycle and subsequently departed

Norfolk Naval Base Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Ha ...

on its 2011 overseas deployment under the command of Tyson on 11 May 2011. The carrier strike group operated with the

United States Sixth Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe and Africa. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixt ...

in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

and the

United States Fifth Fleet The Fifth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. Its area of responsibility encompasses approximately 2.5 million square miles, and includes the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean. It shares a comma ...

in the

, with its aircraft flying missions as part of the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

. In an August 1, 2011 ceremony on the ''George Bush'', Tyson was promoted to rear admiral upper half. Former President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

administered the oath of office to Tyson via videolink from

Kennebunkport, Maine Kennebunkport is a resort town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,629 people at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. The town center, the area in and around Dock Squa ...

. Tyson served as Vice Director of the

beginning in February 2012. In July 2013 she was promoted to vice admiral and named as Deputy Commander,

. In 2015, Tyson was installed as commander of the Third Fleet, making her the first woman to lead a United States Navy ship fleet. Tyson implemented the '3rd Fleet Forward' initiative announced by CINCPACFLT Admiral Scott Swift, retaining Third Fleet operational control of forces, including a three-ship SAG and

Carrier Strike Group 1 Carrier Strike Group One (CSG-1 or CARSTRKGRU 1) is a U.S. Navy carrier strike group. is the strike group's current flagship, which currently consists of Carrier Air Wing 2, the ''Ticonderoga''-class guided-missile cruiser USS ''Princeton'' a ...

, deployed beyond the hitherto Third Fleet/Seventh Fleet boundary at the

International Date Line The International Date Line (IDL) is the line extending between the South and North Poles that is the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific Ocean, roughly following the 180.0° line of longitude and de ...

. She retired on September 18, 2017.

Awards and decorations

References

External links

Official U.S. Navy Biography

Female CSG Commander
– YouTube
"The woman at the helm in the US Navy"
– ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' (June 23, 2011)
"U.S. signals wider engagement in western Pacific"
– ''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

'' (October 18, 2015) {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyson, Nora W. Living people Military personnel from Memphis, Tennessee Vanderbilt University alumni Naval War College alumni Female admirals of the United States Navy United States Naval Flight Officers United States Navy admirals 1957 births

Education

Naval career

Awards and decorations

See also

References

External links