当琳达·法甘宣誓就职时，她成为第一位领导美国军队的女性美国海岸警卫队司令周三在华盛顿一个阳光明媚的仪式上。

4月份提名法甘担任这一职务的乔·拜登总统在美国海岸警卫队总部举行的指挥权变更活动上发表讲话，称这是“我们历史上的一个新里程碑”和“一件大事”

“没有人比她更有资格领导海岸警卫队自豪的男女队员，她也将是第一位担任海岸警卫队司令的女性，第一位领导美国武装部队任何分支的女性——现在是时候了，”拜登在法甘接替即将退休的卡尔·舒尔茨海军上将的仪式上说。

拜登补充说，“国防部长，当他把名字发给我时，我说，‘你到底怎么花了这么长时间?’"

法甘将担任海岸警卫队副指挥官，这是第一位担任分支机构二把手的女性四星上将，此前曾在2018年6月至2021年6月担任海岸警卫队太平洋地区指挥官。

现在，法甘将很快成为第一位在美国参谋长联席会议上占有一席之地的女性——代表军队的所有分支——她在军队中服役近40年，与她将加入的军官不相上下。

“我非常感谢铺平道路的许多参与者，”法甘在拜登之后说。像西勒上将、多萝西·斯特拉滕、艾达·路易斯、多萝西·麦克肖恩、伊丽莎白·弗里德曼这样的先驱。我很自豪能成为这一悠久的服务、奉献和开拓历史的一部分，我承诺将这些原则发扬光大。”

仪式结束后，当被问及她对那些可能考虑参军的年轻女性的寄语时，法甘说:“首先，我想对任何一个年轻人说...我们正在招聘。”

“尤其是对年轻女性，你可以做任何事情，”她补充道。“你只受到你自己的限制，你知道，你自己的禁忌，我们很乐意看到你加入我们的服务。这对每个人来说都是一个非常非常好的机会。”

2022年6月1日，乔·拜登总统在华盛顿特区参加美国海岸警卫队总部的指挥权变更仪式。左起，国土安全部部长亚历杭德罗·马约卡斯、拜登、即将离任的美国海岸警卫队司令卡尔·l·舒尔茨上将和琳达·法格上将...显示更多

埃文·伍奇/美联社

法甘还表示，她工作场所的特点是毅力、坚韧和勇气——“走出你的舒适区”——并表示，她的首要任务之一将是招募才华横溢、多元化的成员加入海岸警卫队。

“多样性很重要，”她告诉记者。"理想情况下，我们反映我们所服务的美国社会."

她说:“我们将继续关注多样性，取悦公平，消除那些不会给人们带来困难的障碍，特别是年轻的妈妈们，她们认为自己的服务和服务成功为我们奠定了良好的基础。”“我们将继续推进这项工作。”

拜登在讲话中指出，法甘在职业生涯的早期也是一名先锋，在她服役期间，她是为数不多的几名女性之一，或者说是唯一一名女性，她将周三的仪式称为“这方面的历史性第一次”

“我要感谢法甘上将在这个关键时刻掌舵，”他补充道。“对于你在职业生涯中所做的一切，它只是稍微打开了一点机会之门，让那些跟在你后面的人有机会通过。”

拜登还强调，美国需要确保更多女性担任法甘级别的领导职务。

拜登补充说:“我们需要确保女性有机会在整个职业生涯中获得成功和发展，这意味着提供支持和资源，使女性能够公平和充分地竞争晋升，并确保女性不会因为生孩子而在职业生涯中受到惩罚。”“这还意味着创造一种环境，让武装部队的每一名成员在队伍中感到安全，包括免受性侵犯和性骚扰，并尊重他们的贡献。”

1985年，法甘是海岸警卫队学院第六届毕业的女生。从那以后，她在所有七大洲服务——根据海岸警卫队的说法，“从南极洲罗斯岛的积雪到非洲的心脏，从东京到日内瓦”——并在USCGC极地之星，一艘399吨重的极地破冰船上服务。她也是在海上安全领域服务时间最长的人，这为她赢得了海岸警卫队有史以来第一枚金色古代三叉戟勋章。

在参议院商务委员会(负责监督海岸警卫队)举行的法甘确认听证会上，委员会成员包括华盛顿特区参议员玛丽亚·坎特威尔。，称赞她作为开拓者的资格和地位。

“我们向女学员和在五月角受训的人传达了一个强烈的信息。我们向那些梦想有一天在海岸警卫队服役的年轻女孩们传达了一个强烈的信息。“我们现在说，这个组织的领导人，你的服务很重要，你对海岸警卫队和国家的贡献很重要。是的，有一天你也能成为指挥官。”

值得注意的是，法甘的女儿艾琳也是海岸警卫队中尉，也出席了周三的仪式。

在拜登感谢她的家人到场后，法甘在讲话中说:“总统先生，谢谢你叫她出来。”。“她是我的私人助理。我非常依赖她。”

法甘出生于俄亥俄州的哥伦布市，他还获得了华盛顿大学和武装部队工业学院的学位。

之前的其他任务包括负责行动、政策和能力的副指挥官，第一海岸警卫队区指挥官，以及作为总部和美国北方司令部行动副主任的联合任务。

参议院上个月一致同意批准了法甘和其他五名海岸警卫队高级官员的提名。

Adm. Linda Fagan becomes 1st woman to lead U.S. armed forces branch

Adm. Linda Fagan became the first woman to lead a branch of the U.S. military when she was sworn in ascommandant of the U.S. Coast Guardat a sunny ceremony in Washington on Wednesday.

President Joe Biden, who nominated Fagan to the post in April, spoke at the change of command event at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, calling it "a new milestone in our history" and "a big deal."

"There's no one more qualified to lead the proud men and women of the Coast Guard, and she will also be the first woman to serve as Commandant of the Coast Guard, the first woman to lead any branch of the United States Armed Forces -- and it's about time," Biden said at the ceremony, where Fagan relieved Adm. Karl Schultz, who is retiring.

Biden added, "Secretary of Defense, when he sent me the name, I said, 'What in the hell took you so long?'"

Fagan is coming off serving as the Coast Guard's vice commandant -- the first female four-star admiral to serve as a branch's second-in-command -- and previously served as the commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area from June 2018 to June 2021.

Now, Fagan will soon be the first woman to take a seat at the table of the U.S. Joint Chiefs -- representing all branches of the military -- and she comes equipped with nearly 40 years in the service, on par with the officers she will be joining.

"I'm immensely grateful to the many players that paved the way," Fagan said following Biden. "Pioneers like Admiral Siler, Dorothy Stratten, Ida Lewis, Dorothy McShane, Elizabeth Friedman. I'm proud to be a part of this long history of service, dedication, and groundbreaking, and I'm committed to carrying these principles forward."

Asked after the ceremony about her message to young women that might be thinking of enlisting in the services, Fagan said, "First off, I would say to any young person out there...We are hiring."

"Particularly to the young women, you can do anything," she added. "You are only limited by your own, you know, your own inhibitions, and we'd love to see you come join us in the service. It's just a great, great opportunity for everyone."

Fagan also said the traits that characterize her workplace are perseverance, tenacity, and courage -- "to step out of your comfort zone" -- and said that one of her top priorities will be recruiting talented, diverse members to the Coast Guard.

"Diversity matters," she told reporters. "Ideally, we reflect the American society that we serve."

"We will continue to focus on diversity, pleasing equity, eliminating barriers that don't make it hard for folks, particularly young moms, who see themselves serving and serving successfully has laid a great foundation for us," she said. "We will continue to build on that work."

Biden, in his remarks, noted that Fagan had been a pioneer earlier in her career, too, serving as one of few women -- or the only woman -- in various stations throughout her time in the service, and calling Wednesday's ceremony "a historic first, in that effort."

"I want to thank you Admiral Fagan for taking the helm during this critical moment," he added. "And for all that you've done throughout your career, it opened the doors of opportunities just a little bit wider to allowing those following behind you, a way through."

Biden also emphasized that the U.S. needs to ensure that more women are in leadership positions at Fagan's level.

"We need to ensure women have an opportunity to succeed and thrive throughout their professional careers and that means providing support and resources so women can compete fairly and fully for promotions and make sure women are not penalized in their career for having children," Biden added. "It also means creating an environment where every member of the Armed Forces feels safe in the ranks, including from sexual assault and harassment, and where their contributions are respected."

In 1985, Fagan was in just the sixth graduating class from the Coast Guard Academy that included women. She has since risen the ranks to serve on all seven continents – "from the snows of Ross Island, Antarctica to the heart of Africa, from Tokyo to Geneva," according to the Coast Guard – and aboard the USCGC POLAR STAR, a 399ft heavy polar icebreaker. She is also the longest service in the marine safety field, which earned her the Coast Guard's first-ever Gold Ancient Trident distinction.

During Fagan's confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee, which has oversight of the Coast Guard, lawmakers on the panel including Chair Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., praised her qualifications and place as a trailblazer.

"We're sending a strong message to women cadets and to people training at Cape May. And we are sending a strong message to young girls who dream of someday serving in the Coast Guard," she said. "We are saying now that the leader of this organization that your service matters, your contribution to the Coast Guard and to the country matters. And yes, you too can be commandant someday."

Notably, Fagan's daughter, Aileen, is also a Coast Guard lieutenant and was present at Wednesday's ceremony.

"Thank you, Mr. President, for calling her out," Fagan said in her remarks, after Biden had thanked her family for being there. "She's my personal aide. I lean on her pretty heavily."

Born in Columbus, Ohio, Fagan also earned degrees from the University of Washington and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

Other prior assignments include Deputy Commandant for Operations, Policy, and Capability, Commander of the First Coast Guard District, and a joint assignment as Deputy Director of Operations for Headquarters and United States Northern Command.

The Senate approved Fagan's nomination, along with five other senior Coast Guard officers, by unanimous consent last month.