Gail Harris ( naval officer ) Captain Gail Harris , ( born June 23 , 1949 ) is a former US naval officer , and was the highest - ranking African American female in the United States Navy upon her retirement in December 2001 . She served as the first female Intelligence Officer in a Navy aviation squadron in 1973 . In 1979 , Captain Harris became the first female and African American instructor at the Armed Forces Air Intelligence Training Center at Lowry Air Force Base , Colorado . In 1989 , she became the first female and African American to lead the Intelligence Department for Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron in Rota , Spain , the largest Navy aviation squadron . Personal Background . Gail Harris was born on June 23 , 1949 in East Orange , New Jersey , to James and Lena Harris , and was raised in Newark , New Jersey ' s inner city along with her brother and sister . After high school Captain Harris received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from Drew University , in Madison , New Jersey in 1971 . In 1983 , she earned a Master ' s Degree in International Studies at the University of Denver ' s Graduate School of International Studies ( now the Josef Korbel School of International Studies ) , where Condoleezza Rice was a classmate of hers . Military career . Captain Gail Harris entered the Navy on May 16 , 1973 and was commissioned through Officer Candidate School , in Newport , Rhode Island . In October 1973 to October 1976 , Captain Harris was chosen to be the test case for women in Naval Operational Aviation Squadron , and there , she served as the Air Intelligence Officer for Patrol Squadron 47 at Moffet Field , California , her first assignment . At the end of 1976 , she was requested by name to report to Kamiseya , Japan , to the Fleet Ocean Surveillance Information Facility and became the first female and African American female to be designated an Intelligence Watch Specialist in the Navy , as an Intelligence Watch Officer . In April 1979 , Captain Gail Harris became the Navy ' s first Female and African American Instructor at the Armed Forces Air Intelligence Training Center at Lowry Air Force Base , Colorado . There she built up the Navy ' s first course on Ocean Surveillance Information Systems and taught the Anti - Submarine Warfare and Soviet Surface Operations courses . In 1984 , Captain Harris was one of the first two women assigned to the Office of Naval Intelligence ' s War Gaming Team Detachment at the Naval War College , and was chosen to be Commander of the Soviet Union ' s Theater military forces , twice during the Global War Games . In 1988 , Gail was requested by name to coordinate the Defense Department ' s Intelligence support for the 1988 Olympics in Seoul , South Korea . In 1989 , she was selected to head the Intelligence Department for Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron Two , in Rota , Spain , becoming the first female and African American to do so in the Navy ' s largest Aviation Squadron . The mission was for the Squadron to support U . S . military and aircraft carrier operations with Intelligence reports during the Gulf War . During her service , between 1992 and 1996 , in the Middle East , as the Intelligence Planner for Commander U . S . Forces Central Command , she also headed the Navy ' s Iraqi Crisis Action Cell and Intelligence Watch Center during crisis operations in the Persian Gulf . At this time , she was also specifically chosen by the Director of Naval Intelligence and Commander of U . S . Naval Forces Central Command to fill in as Acting Naval Attache , Egypt , for a five - month period , becoming the first female Attache to a Middle Eastern country . For her last assignment , Captain Gail Harris was selected to develop Intelligence Policy for Computer Network Defense and Computer Network Attack for the Department of Defense . Awards and decorations . Foreign Decorations Life After Military Service . Since retiring from the Military in 2001 , Captain Harris worked for Lockheed Martin as an Intelligence Subject Matter expert . She has also been a contributing author to books such as , " Wake Up and Live Your Life With Passion " , and " Lies and Limericks : Inspirations from Ireland " . She is currently finishing her book / memoir " War On Any Given Day , " and she also has a weekly R & B radio show .