NORFOLK, Va. — For the Navy, 2023 has been a year of firsts.
Captain Janet Days became the first Black woman to become the commanding officer of Naval Station Norfolk for the first time in the base's 106-year history.
2023 also saw former Naval Air Station Oceana pilot Lt. Amanda Lee becoming their first female F/A-18E/F demo pilot for the Navy flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels.
According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, the first women to serve in the U.S. Navy were nurses, beginning with the Navy Nurse Corps in 1908.
In 1974, the Navy designated the first woman as an aviator.
In 1994, the Navy issued the first orders for women to be assigned aboard a combatant ship, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.
In 2010, the Navy lifted its ban on women serving aboard submarines.
And although the Navy has yet to have its first female Navy SEAL, a woman completed the grueling 37-week course last year to become the Navy's first Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewman.
On Monday, a group of female military leaders discussed women's role in 2023, as part of the Department of Defense's annual Women's History Month celebration every March.
"I know when I came in the Navy in 1985, a lot of the doors were closed," said the Vice Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti. "And now, 10 years after the repeal of all combat exclusions, I can see that the doors are not just open, but they're completely gone. And I think the question for women today is no longer, 'What can I do?' It's 'What do I want to do?' because you can do anything in today's military."