Secretary of Defense James Mattis announced Tuesday the president has nominated Rear Adm. Lisa Franchetti to be appointed as vice admiral and assigned as commander of the Sixth Fleet.
If confirmed, Franchetti will be the first woman appointed to the position and will replace Vice Adm. Christopher Grady to lead the Sixth Fleet as well as commander of Task Force Six, commander of Striking and Support Forces NATO, deputy commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe, deputy commander of Naval Forces Africa, and Joint Force Maritime Component commander Europe.
Franchetti currently serves as chief of staff, J5, Joint Staff at the Pentagon
She previously served as commander of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 9 on the USS George Washington (CVN-73) and USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) as well as CSG 15, commander of Pacific Partnership 2010, military assistant to the secretary of the Navy; and the first woman to command U.S. Navy Forces Korea.
Grady became head of Sixth Fleet in Oct. 2016 when previous commander Vice Adm. James Foggo III was assigned Director of Navy Staff at the Pentagon. Foggo led Sixth Fleet from Dec. 2014 to Oct. 2016.
More recently, in June Foggo was nominated to rise from Vice Adm. to admiral and assigned as commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and Allied Joint Forces Command in Naples, Italy. Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan was then assigned to replace Foggo as director of the Navy Staff. Donegan was previously commander of Fifth Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces, Central Command (Defense Daily, June 16).
Foggo took over command of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and Allied Joint Forces Command Naples from Adm. Michelle Howard on Oct. 23, the Navy’s first woman four star admiral who rose to be vice chief of naval operations and command operational forces in the Europe-Africa post.
If confirmed, Franchetti will report to Foggo, who in turn is one of two subordinate Joint Force commanders to NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti.