DARLENE
M. ISKRA
When Darlene
Iskra enlisted in the Navy in 1979, her ambitions
were modest; she was 27, coming off a divorce, her life in
need of a jump start. She unwittingly caught a wave of change
in that service, becoming one of the first women to graduate
from dive school. Her talent for supervision and her tenacity
won her a loyal following in the higher echelons of the Navy,
and in December 1990, she became the first woman to take
command of a U.S. Navy ship, aptly named the Opportune. Though
her ship was on stand-by duty during the Persian Gulf War,
Iskra's name was already secure in Naval history. |