Sara Annette Joyner (born 1967) is a

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. She is the first female strike fighter pilot to command a United States Navy fighter squadron and a carrier air wing. Her promotion to rear admiral (lower half) was authorized by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on 25 May 2017. On 24 February, the Secretary of Defence announced that Joyner would be promoted to the rank of rear admiral; she was pinned on 1 April 2021. She was promoted to vice admiral on 3 June 2022.

Early life and education

Sara Annette Applegarth was born on

Hoopers Island Hoopers Island is a chain of islands in Dorchester County, Maryland, United States. Upper Hoopers Island and Lower Hoopers Island are surrounded by water with the Chesapeake Bay on the west and the Honga River on the east. The remote set of is ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. She is one of four children of Samuel Hubert Applegarth Jr. and Sara Jane (McClaran) Applegarth. Her father, Commander Hubert Applegarth, retired from active duty in the United States Navy in 1977, having graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

in 1951. The family property in the village of Honga on Upper Hoopers Island was purchased by Sara's great-grandfather William Francis Applegarth Sr. in 1891. Her great-grandfather later served as a member of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

and the

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single ...

. Applegarth also attended the United States Naval Academy. She graduated with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in Oceanography in 1989 and was commissioned as an ensign. She then attended flight school and earned her naval aviator wings in July 1991.

Career

Sara Joyner became a fighter pilot in 1996, flying an F/A-18 Hornet with VFA-147. She assumed command of Strike Fighter Squadron 105 from Commander Douglas C. Verissimo on 2 March 2007. She turned over command to Commander Thomas R. Tennant on 9 June 2008. Joyner later became deputy commander of

Carrier Air Wing Three Carrier Air Wing Three (CVW-3), known as the "Battle Axe", is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. The wing was created on 1 July 1938 and has seen service in World War II, the Korean War, t ...

, assuming full command from Captain Michael S. Wallace on 4 January 2013. The air wing embarked on a deployment aboard on 22 July 2013. She commanded the air wing until relieved by Captain George Wikoff on 22 December 2013. In June 2018, Joyner became Director for Manpower and Personnel, J1 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 ...

. In August 2019, she assumed command of Carrier Strike Group 2. Joyner was succeeded by Rear Admiral Richard J. Cheeseman at the end of April 2020. Joyner served as chief of legislative affairs for the Department of the Navy until May 2022. In April 2022, Joyner was nominated for promotion to vice admiral and assignment as director for force structure, resources and assessment 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, ...

(J8). She was promoted on 3 June 2022.

Personal

Joyner is married to James Mitchell Joyner IV, her Naval Academy classmate and fellow naval aviator. They were married on 19 February 1992 in

Cameron County, Texas Cameron County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 421,017. Its county seat is Brownsville. The county was founded in 1848 and is named for Captain Ewen Cameron, a soldier durin ...

, and have two children. Her husband Commander James Joyner retired from active duty in the navy in 2014.

References

External links

Vice Admiral Sara Joyner
U.S. Navy Biography {{DEFAULTSORT:Joyner, Sara Annette 1967 births Living people People from Dorchester County, Maryland United States Naval Academy alumni Women United States Naval Aviators Aviators from Maryland Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Female admirals of the United States Navy Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal 21st-century American women