INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
US President Biden has chosen a female admiral to lead the US Navy - the first time a woman has been nominated to head a Pentagon military
service branch.Lisa Franchetti is a former head of the US 6th Fleet and US naval forces in South Korea, and has also served as an aircraft
carrier strike commander.Her nomination by Mr Biden must still be confirmed by the US Senate.One lawmaker is currently blocking the Senate
from confirming military leaders to protest a military abortion policy.If confirmed as Chief of Naval Operations she will be the first woman
to become a member of the elite group of senior military officers who make up the Joint Chiefs of Staff.A 38-year veteran, she was only the
Adm Franchetti was not the first choice of the US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, who instead recommended TOPGUN graduate Samuel Paparo as
the next Navy chief.Mr Biden also promoted Adm Paparo, nominating him to become the commander of the US military forces in the Pacific.The
US Coast Guard is currently led by a woman - Admiral Linda Fagan - but that military branch falls under the Department of Homeland Security
Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville is currently blocking the senate from confirming more than 270 military promotions over a Pentagon
policy that pays the travel expenses of service members who have to go out of state to have an abortion.In his statement, Mr Biden
ensure that the United States Armed Forces remain the greatest fighting force in the history of the world
