"Don't treat me any differently; I am the commanding officer and that's it." (Video Interview, 34:55)

Darlene M. Iskra

Darlene Iskra aboard the USS Opportune War: Persian Gulf War, 1990-1995 Branch: Navy Unit: USS Hector (AR 7); USS Opportune (ARS 41) Service Location: Alameda, California; San Diego, California; Norfolk, Virginia; Washington, DC; Port Said, Egypt; Guam (Mariana Islands) Rank: Commander Place of Birth: San Francisco, CA

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.