Naval Information Forces (NAVIFOR) joins the Navy in celebrating Women’s History Month throughout the month of March.

NAVIFOR’s celebration of women in the Navy was held at the Hall of Heroes at the Suffolk DoD Complex March 24. Established by Public Law 100-9, Women’s History Month was created to recognize women’s contributions and achievements throughout the history of the United States. The 2023 Department of Defense theme “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories,” is a tribute to women’s storied history in the Navy and the legacies they have left over generations.

NAVIFOR is uniquely positioned to celebrate this month, as the command triad consists of an all-women leadership team. NAVIFOR Commander Vice Adm. Kelly Aeschbach is the only woman Navy type commander; NAVIFOR’s Force Master Chief Laura Nunley is currently the only woman Force Master Chief in the Navy; and Ms. Liz Nashold is the first woman deputy commander of NAVIFOR. They have nearly a century of active duty and federal service between them.

Nashold opened the event by highlighting the critical contributions of women to the Navy.

“This month, as the history and legacy of women are celebrated across the Navy, the Department of Defense, and our nation, I can’t help but personally reflect on how the inclusion of women has made us more capable, more competitive, and more effective. If you look around the room today, we have hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years of experiences – centuries of legacies,” said Nashold. “Women – active, reserve, and civilian – are critical to every single mission, everything we do, around the globe. We don’t have to look too far to see how women, time and again, have chosen to serve and how their inclusion has made us sharper, bolder, and better.”

Nashold reflected on how more than 20% of the Navy’s active force now are women, serving in all capacities to defend the maritime domain, enhance the Navy’s lethality, and deter strategic competitors. The Navy has fifty-six thousand talented women who serve as Navy civilians. Navy history is full of trailblazing pioneers who paved the way for more than 138,000 women – active, reserve, and civilian – serving in the Navy today.

The Navy has more women leaders in service than ever before. Twenty-two female admirals and 1,580 female master chiefs and senior chief petty officers lead from the front. More than thirty percent of the Department of the Navy’s civilian leadership in the senior executive service are women. Every rank is open to women serving in nearly every Navy community, from the seafloor to the stars.

Force Master Chief Laura Nunley introduced the event’s guest speaker, Master Chief Courtney Barber, who is not only one of the Navy’s most senior enlisted women but also an accomplished Navy life coach, three-time published author, civilian life purpose coach, host of a iHeart radio show and a 2022 humanitarian award winner.

“She is a polished professional and still relatable and approachable, which is what I love about her,” said Nunley. “No one meets Master Chief Barber without walking away leaving a better person. Her story is our story.”

Barber reflected on the adversities she faced after enlisting in the Navy and while working as a young airman, to now serving as a Master Chief.

“When you walk in your purpose every day, full of authenticity, full of realness, confidence, passion, respect, humble arrogance, grace, and strength, it will NEVER matter what people think of you,” said Barber. “It will NEVER matter the conversations that are being had behind your back. What WILL matter is the attention and energy you waste worrying about it and how you allow it to control you.”

Barber shared invaluable words with everyone in attendance.

“Your struggles and your setbacks were done on purpose. And they are the stepping stones that are going to propel you to where you are supposed to be in life,” said Barber. “All you must do is change your mindset. If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change. It is up to you to embrace all that you have endured and learned throughout your life so that you can use your story, your testimony to share with others who are looking for motivation, inspiration, and encouragement. Your story to share is important.”

Vice Adm. Aeschbach closed the ceremony with a recount of her story of attending George Washington University and accepting her commission as an intelligence officer in the Navy – a career path that she credits to her mother, Roni, who Aeschbach noted is “pretty remarkable” and was the main driver to putting her on the path to obtaining a Navy ROTC scholarship.

“Everybody has a story and you need to share your story. You need to look for opportunities to mentor and sponsor because without even realizing it you are inspiring someone every single day,” said Aeschbach. “Share your story, because this is a really critical time for us and you want to keep inspiring people to do what we do and follow behind us.”

The event also included a “Pow-HER-full” wall display with photos of more than 50 women nominated by NAVIFOR personnel and local Information Warfare commands that served as inspirational role models.

Information warfare is a wide-ranging community that includes communications, networks, intelligence, oceanography, meteorology, cryptology, electronic warfare, cyberspace operations, and space experts, among many others.

NAVIFOR’s mission is to generate, directly and through our leadership of the IW Enterprise, agile and technically superior manned, trained, equipped, and certified combat-ready IW forces to ensure our Navy will decisively DETER, COMPETE, and WIN.

For more information on NAVIFOR, visit the command Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NavalInformationForces/ or the public web page at https://www.navifor.usff.navy.mil.