Pair of combat boots worn by Adm. Michelle Howard as rear admiral (lower half)

A 1982 Naval Academy graduate, Michelle Howard commanded Task Force 151 in 2009, which freed Captain Richard Phillips and other hostages from the Maersk Alabama. In 2014, she became the first female four-star admiral in the Navy, as well as the highest-ranking Black woman in the military, and was appointed vice chief of naval operations.