Claudia Kennedy
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Claudia J. Kennedy (born July 14, 1947) is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Army.
Kennedy is the first woman in the U.S. Army to hold a three-star rank. (United States Navy Vice Admiral Patricia Tracey and Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Carol A. Mutter held equal ranks in other branches of the military).
Kennedy was born in Frankfurt, Germany and attended Southwestern at Memphis, earning a bachelor's degree in philosophy. She was commissioned in the United States Army in 1969. Kennedy served two tours in Germany and one tour in South Korea and focused much of her military career in the fields of intelligence and cryptology.
In 1997, Kennedy was promoted to lieutenant general and named Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence. In 1999, she made a sexual harassment claim against fellow officer, General Larry Smith stemming from an incident in 1996 when both were two-star generals. Kennedy made the accusation after Smith was promoted to the position of Army deputy inspector general, the position responsible for investigation of sexual harassment claims. Kennedy claimed that Smith had attempted to grope and kiss her; Smith's appointment to the inspector general's office was later withdrawn.
Kennedy retired from the military in June 2000 after 31 years in the Army. During the 2000 U.S. presidential election, Kennedy was critical of George W. Bush's military policies, especially as they related to the status of women in the armed forces. According to General Kennedy: "If Mr. Bush becomes president, his campaign platform says he will move us back to a much earlier time."
In 2002, Democrats actively sought to recruit General Kennedy to challenge U.S. Senator John Warner, a Republican from Virginia. Kennedy passed on the race.
Kennedy endorsed Senator John Kerry for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination in September of 2003, and has served as an advisor to the Kerry campaign. (see 2004 presidential campaign of John Kerry). She was sometimes mentioned as a possible cabinet member (as Secretary of Defense or Secretary of Homeland Security) in a Kerry administration.
Sources
- Kennedy, Claudia J., and Malcolm McConnell. Generally Speaking: A Memoir by the First Woman Promoted to Three-Star General in the United States Army. Warner Books: 2001. ASIN 0446527939.