Admiral Stephen Rochon, USCG: The Black Man Who Runs The White House.
No, not President Barack Obama. Let's return to the older dudes. Who is he? Rear Admiral Stephen Rochon is the White House Chief Usher. The Louisiana native is in charge of the domestic staff at the White House, and making sure everything runs like clockwork. He is the eighth person and the first Black person to hold this position. He was appointed to this position in 2007 under President George W. Bush after the previous usher retired after 20 years of service, and the Obamas decided to retain him.
However, don’t get it twisted. Ol’ boy ain t the butler. Admiral Rochon manages the day-to-day operations of the White House, with its 132 rooms, $13-million plus budget, and 90+ staff. He oversees the White House operations, maintenance and utilities and works with the White House Social Security on ceremonial events of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. If the president needs him, he’s on it.. If Mrs. Obama wants an environmentally-friendly, American-made swing set for Sasha and Malia, he’s testing the equipment on her behalf. When the Obamas host dinners, he’s there. When the Obamas say they want to make the White House more accessible to the public, he’s on it.
His job is to run a tight ship, of which he is very familiar. Admiral Rochon previously served as the Coast Guard’s commander of the Maintenance and Logistics Command Atlantic, where he was responsible for naval and civil engineering, financial management, personnel, legal, civil rights, electronic systems support, and contingency planning across 40 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, Europe, and the Middle East.
Admiral Rochon has a B.S. in Business Administration from Xavier University, and an M.S in National Resource Strategy from the NationalDefense University. He has earned the Coast Guard Distinguished Medal and three Legion of Merit medals.
Admiral Rochon is married and has four children.
When I was thinking about goosebumps moments, I mentioned that HGTV Special at The White House with The First Lady, and I thought it would be wonderful for Admiral Rochon, the first Black Chief Usher to be in service to the first Black First Family.

Ship that rescued American captain from Somali pirates was commanded by Black female admiral. ADM Michelle Howard rescued the M/V Maersk Alabama's captain.




Admiral Michelle Howard

(April 26, 2009) - While the facts surrounding the kidnapping and rescue of the Maersk Alabama Captain Richard Phillips have been widely reported, less well-known is that ship which saved him was commanded by a Black female, Rear Admiral Michelle Howard.

ADM Howard received the assignment of leading the U.S. Navy's counter-piracy task force just three days before the Maersk Alabama was attacked by Somalia pirates.

“It's probably one of the most exciting missions the Navy has been on in for a long while,” ADM Howard told the Navy Times.

ADM Howard is the first of her 1982 U.S. Naval Academy class to reach the rank of admiral. In 1999, ADM Howard became the first African-American woman to command a U.S. Navy ship, the USS Rushmore.

She holds a masters degree in Military Science Arts and Sciences from the Army’s Command and General Staff College.

ADM Howard said the mission of her unit, Combined Task Force 151, will remain deterring and disrupting piracy off the Horn of Africa.

“Right now, the policy is, fight piracy, and I am all about that policy,” she said. “We are quite capable of staying out here and doing this mission.”

ADM Howard’s task force operates with U.S. warships deployed to the eastern Africa area as well as those sent from allied nations. Before her assignment to the strike group, Howard was the senior military assistant to the Secretary of the Navy.

OFFICIAL NAVY BIO:
Rear Admiral Michelle Howard is a 1978 graduate of Gateway High School
in Aurora, Colorado. She graduated from the United States Naval
Academy in 1982 and from the Army’s Command and General Staff College
in 1998, with a Masters in Military Arts and Sciences.

Rear Adm. Howard’s initial sea tours were aboard USS Hunley (AS 31)
and USS Lexington (AVT 16). While serving on board Lexington, she
received the Secretary of the Navy/Navy League Captain Winifred
Collins award in May 1987. This award is given to one woman officer a
year for outstanding leadership. She reported to USS Mount Hood (AE
29) as Chief Engineer in 1990 and served in Operations Desert Shield
and Desert Storm. She assumed duties as First Lieutenant on board the
USS Flint (AE 32) in July 1992. In January 1996, she became the
Executive Officer of USS Tortuga (LSD 46) and deployed to the
THE OFFICIAL BIO ON ADMIRAL HOWARD IS AS FOLLOWS:

Adriatic in support of Operation Joint Endeavor, a peacekeeping effort
in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia. Sixty days after returning from
the Mediterranean deployment, Tortuga departed on a West African
Training Cruise, where the ship’s Sailors, with embarked Marines and
US Coast Guard detachment, operated with the naval services of seven
African nations.

She took command of USS Rushmore (LSD 47) on March 12, 1999, becoming
the first African American woman to command a ship in the U.S. Navy.
Rear Adm. (Sel) Howard was the Commander of Amphibious Squadron 7 from
May 2004 to September 2005. Deploying with Expeditionary Strike Group
(ESG) 5, operations included tsunami relief efforts in Indonesia and
maritime security operations in the North Arabian Gulf.

Her shore assignments include: Course Coordinator/Instructor for the
Steam Engineering Officer of the Watch (EOOW) course; Action Officer
and Navy’s liaison to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the
Military Services (DACOWITS) in the Bureau of Personnel; Action
Officer J-3, Global Operations, Readiness on the Joint Staff from
2001-2003; Executive Assistant to the Joint Staff Director of
Operations from February 2003 to February 2004; and Deputy Director N3
on the OPNAV Staff from December 2005 to July 2006.

She was the Deputy Director, Expeditionary Warfare Division, OPNAV
staff from July 2006 to December 2006, and currently serves as the

Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy.

Unofficial biography:
Michelle Janine Howard (born 1960) is an American Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. She is the first African-American woman to command a US Navy ship. In 2006, she was selected for the rank of Rear Admiral lower half, making her the first admiral selected from the United States Naval Academy class of 1982 and the first woman graduate of the United States Naval Academy selected for Admiral. In 2009, Howard was nominated for the rank of Rear Admiral upper half, and is being assigned as commander of Expeditionary Strike Group Two in Norfolk, Virginia.

Howard was born to retired Air Force master sergeant, Nick and Phillipa Howard. She is a 1978 graduate of Gateway High School in Aurora, Colorado. She graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1982 and from the Army’s Command and General Staff College in 1998, with a Masters in Military Arts and Sciences.

Howard’s initial sea tours were aboard USS Hunley and USS Lexington (AVT-16). While serving on board Lexington, she received the Secretary of the Navy/Navy League Captain Winifred Collins award in May 1987. This award is given to one woman officer a year for outstanding leadership. She reported to USS Mount Hood (AE-29) as Chief Engineer in 1990 and served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. She assumed duties as First Lieutenant on board the USS Flint (AE-32) in July 1992. In January 1996, she became the Executive Officer of USS Tortuga (LSD-46) and deployed to the Adriatic in support of Operation Joint Endeavor, a peacekeeping effort in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia. Sixty days after returning from the Mediterranean deployment, Tortuga departed on a West African Training Cruise, where the ship’s Sailors, with embarked Marines and US Coast Guard detachment, operated with the naval services of seven African nations.

Howard took command of USS Rushmore (LSD-47) on March 12, 1999, becoming the first African American woman to command a ship in the U.S. Navy. Howard commanded Amphibious Squadron 7 from May 2004 to September 2005. Deploying with Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 5, operations included tsunami relief efforts in Indonesia and maritime security operations in the North Persian Gulf.

Howard's shore assignments include: Course Coordinator/Instructor for the Steam Engineering Officer of the Watch (EOOW) course; Action Officer and Navy’s liaison to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Military Services (DACOWITS) in the Bureau of Personnel; Action Officer J-3, Global Operations, Readiness on the Joint Staff from 2001-2003; Executive Assistant to the Joint Staff Director of Operations from February 2003 to February 2004; and Deputy Director N3 on the OPNAV Staff from December 2005 to July 2006.

Howard was the Deputy Director, Expeditionary Warfare Division, OPNAV staff from July 2006 to December 2006, and currently serves as the Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy.

GULF OF ADEN (April 5, 2009) Rear Adm. Michelle Howard assumed command of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 2 and Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4), from Rear Adm. Terence McKnight,. Boxer is the flagship for CTF 151, a multinational task force established to conduct counter-piracy operations under a mission-based mandate throughout the Combined Maritime Forces area of responsibility to actively deter, disrupt and suppress piracy.