US Naval War College chooses first female president
Shoshana Chatfield will replace previous college leader who came under investigation for inappropriate behaviour and excesive spending
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Your support makes all the difference.A helicopter pilot who heads a military command in Guam will be the first female leader of the US Naval War College.
The US Navy made the announcement days after removing the previous college president who came under investigation over inappropriate behaviour and excessive spending.
Rear Admiral Shoshana Chatfield will be the new president, navy secretary Richard Spencer said in a statement released after the school's graduation ceremony earlier this week. He described her appointment as a “historic choice.”
Rear Admiral Jeffrey Harley was removed as the college's president after it emerged that he was still under investigation more than a year after the initial complaint was filed.
Ms Chatfield served as commander of a provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan in 2008 and as an assistant professor of political science at the United States Air Force Academy from 2001 to 2004. She assumed command in Guam, of Joint Region Marianas, in January 2017.
“She is the embodiment of the type of warrior-scholar we need now to lead this storied institution as it educates our next generation of leaders,” Mr Spencer said in the statement.
Both Mr Spencer and Admiral John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, were involved in picking Ms Chatfield.
Mr Harley was under investigation for allegedly spending excessively, abusing his hiring authority and behaving inappropriately, including keeping a margarita machine in his office.
Mr Richardson told the AP that although the investigation into Harley is not yet complete, he felt he had enough information to warrant removing Mr Harley this week.
A small group of long-time college employees filed an anonymous complaint about Harley in April 2018 with the navy's office of the inspector general. The group contacted the inspector general again in January with additional allegations of Mr Harley flouting navy rules and norms.
Inspector general investigations, across the Defence Department, routinely take months or more than a year.
Emails obtained by the Associated Press show the college has struggled to make payroll under Harley's leadership and spent about $725,000 annually on raises while facing an annual shortfall of $5m or more.
Mr Harley declined last week to answer a series of questions about the allegations, including his use of a margarita machine. He downplayed the complaints in a campus-wide email, saying that they were from “a few individuals” and that all his decisions were subject to legal review and within his authority.
Associated Press
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