A Rear Admiral and a Diplomat

As a rear admiral, Lisa Franchetti also serves a role as a military “ambassador” for the U.S. Navy on the Korean Peninsula.

“Flag and general officers [admirals, vice admirals and rear admirals] have gravitas associated with them,” says Maj. Gen. Mark Dillon. “So when we’re able to present a flag officer or a general officer at an event, it sends an important message to the Koreans.

“There aren’t too many admirals to go around here on the peninsula. In fact, there’s one — Lisa Franchetti. She is the senior representative for the U.S Navy here. She goes to a lot of outreach events. The Koreans are a very gracious people, and they have a lot of historical and annual events that they like to celebrate and commemorate. We honor that heritage and our alliance partnership during these engagements, reinforcing the U.S. commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea.”

Franchetti spends a great deal of her “spare” time attending events in Seoul and throughout the country. She might be seen at a ceremony dressed in traditional Korean clothes. One day last fall she hopped on a helicopter and crisscrossed the peninsula to attend several Republic of Korea military change-of-command ceremonies as an official representative of the U.S. Navy.

She regularly speaks to the men and women of the ROK Navy.

“Admiral Franchetti, as the first female to be appointed the commander of the U.S. Naval Forces Korea, is a valuable symbol of our Navy’s vision toward gender equality,” says ROK Vice Admiral Jung Ho-Sub. “Her presence instills strong pride and passion in the female sailors. In addition, her role helped positively transform the male sailor’s perspective on female sailors as our Navy’s critical assets.”

“When Admiral Franchetti came to give a talk to our students, it was a very good mentoring type of lecture,” says Sun-Hye Hwang, president of Sookmyung Women’s University, where the admiral has spoken to members of the 16,000-woman student body, including female Reserve Officers’ Training Corps students. There are no female admirals in the ROK Navy. “And so our students see themselves in her, their own future and the kind of life they can have,” she says.

The Navy’s mission in South Korea also includes service. U.S. Naval Forces in Korea and visiting ships from the U.S. 7th Fleet have been supporting organizations like the Aikwangwon school for mentally and physically disabled Korean children on Koje Island since the end of the Korean War. Sailors visit and do repairs and team-building exercises and social activities with the residents and staff. Franchetti has visited several times a year, including once last year with her husband and daughter. “We are so proud of her,” says orphanage administrator Woojung Song. “She is part of our family, just as all U.S. Navy sailors are our family.” — T.S.