Navy selects captain as new chief of information

WASHINGTON — The Navy has tapped a captain, rather than an admiral, to be its next chief of information to oversee the service’s public affairs programs.

Capt. Tamara Lawrence, the current acting chief of information, will take over the post, where she will be “instrumental in shaping how the Navy communicates, now and into the future,” Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said in a statement on Friday.

“I have the utmost confidence in her ability to impact the service in such positive and lasting ways, and I am excited to watch her in action,” Cao said.

Lawrence graduated from Duke University and has graduate degrees from San Diego State University and the National War College, according to the Navy. She has previously completed tours at commands including Naval Special Warfare Command and US Naval Forces Europe and Africa Joint Force.

While the chief of information role traditionally has been held by a rear admiral, Lawrence’s selection comes after MS Now first reported in July that the Navy had implemented some changes to the selection process for the position, and that the person ultimately selected would be of the O-6 rank.

This time, active-duty and reserve Navy captains and Marine Corps colonels were considered for the post, whereas previously only active-duty captains with at least three years of experience were viewed eligible for the job and the respective advancement to rear admiral, MS Now reported at the time. The Navy told MS Now that the change was done in order to widen the number of eligible candidates for the job. 

As chief of information, Lawrence will serve as an advisor to Cao and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle, and develop “service-wide guidance about how the Navy will uphold its responsibility to communicate openly and transparently with the public,” the Navy announcement said.