Highest Ranking Filipino-American Naval Officer in the U.S.

Very soon, the Vice Admiral of the United States Navy may soon be (officially) be given to the granddaughter of a WWII Filipino veteran and a Filipino-American herself, besides also holding a simultaneous title as Defense Health Agency director.

Rear Adm. Raquel C. Bono today is currently a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy who was commissioned in 1979. She got her degree from the University of Texas at Austin and began her medical education at Texas Tech University and completed a surgical internship and residency at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, and a Trauma and Critical Care fellowship at the Eastern Virginia Graduate School of Medicine in Norfolk.

In 1990, she saw action during the first gulf war. Landing back stateside after two years, she began her rounds as general surgeon, surgical intensivist, attending surgeon, command intern coordinator, division head of Trauma, and various other titles at the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. In 1999, she was assigned to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. She returned back to Portsmouth four years later as director for Medical–Surgical Services. Then, for two years, she became executive assistant to the 35th Navy Surgeon General and Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, followed by being the commanding officer Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Florida, for three years.

U.S. President Barack Obama nominated Bono for promotion. If this pushes through, she will be the highest ranking Filipino-American naval officer in the U.S.

Sources: Inquirer.net | Navy.mil | LinkedIn.com

Photo: wikimedia.org under Creative Commons License

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