Chester Gap native receives Naval promotion

On December 15 in Jacksonville, Florida, at the Naval Air Station, where military personnel gathered to observe a transfer of leadership, Cmdr. Michelle Higingbotham relieved Cmdr. Koonce of his role as commander of the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit.

“It is a tremendous honor and privilege for me to assume command,” Higingbotham said during the ceremony. “I can’t think of a more challenging or rewarding job.”

According to a Navy media account of the ceremony, Higingbotham, formerly Earley and a native of Chester Gap, Virginia, seized the opportunity to say: “It is a tremendous honor and privilege for me to assume command.” Both parties wished each other well, with warm wishes extended to each other’s families and the future in store for them both. “Treasure the time,” Koonce advised Higingbotham, “It will go by quickly.”

The common denominator between these two individuals is their readiness to serve at a time when their service is desperately needed. Koonce began his service in August of 1990, the same month that Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. After graduating from Rappahannock County High School in 1992 and joining the Navy in 1994, Higingbotham would receive a commission from the Limited Duty Officer program in 2005, around the time that Vladimir Putin was loudly declaring the 1991 fall of the Soviet Empire the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century; today, as the atrocities in Ukraine animate our televisions and many wonder if Bush junior’s victory in Iraq was merely a reshuffling of the playing field, the armed forces are as desperate as ever for commanders like Koonce and Higingbotham who lead with grace and courage.

Her commitment to excellence shows in other parts of her speech at the ceremony. “‘Training and readiness’ will be priority one as we go forward with our mission,” Higingbotham declared. She is the first female to hold this position.