As one of the first women accepted into the Naval Academy in 1976, and with 29 years of active duty under her belt, Capt. Carol Hoffman, commanding officer, Fleet Industrial Supply Center Puget Sound has seen women raise the bar to what she considers to now be an equal standing.

When she entered the Academy her main focus was academics, not the fact that she would be going to school with four thousand men

“I didn’t ever really think about what it would be like to go to a school that had been strictly male for hundreds of years. I never thought that maybe they wouldn’t want me there because I was a woman,” said Hoffman, “I wanted to be there and just focus on what I needed to do to improve myself.”

Being a part of the Naval Academy milestone has taught her to take her experience and share it with co-workers and other women climbing their way up the military ladder.

“I remember when the first enlisted females came on my ship and some of my first class petty officers were calling them by their first names, and I had to tell them, ‘A Sailor is a Sailor regardless of their gender, so the men needed to be consistent with how they addressed men and women’.”

Once the female got acquisitioned to the ship, she would encourage them to prove they were as competent and professional as anyone else aboard that ship because it’s the women who came before them that helped pave the way for the opportunities they have today.

“When I first came into the Navy they would kick women out when they got married or got pregnant. A lot of them chose not to get married or have kids, because they felt like they needed to stay focused on this achievement in order to open the door,” said Hoffman

In 1978 The Pregnancy Discrimination Act banned employment discrimination against pregnant women. Under the Act, a woman cannot be fired or denied a job or a promotion because she is or may become pregnant, nor can she be forced to take a pregnancy leave if she is willing and able to work.

“The sacrifices they made has made it much easier for me. I have more choices and felt like I could have a family and a career,” said Hoffman, “I’m married and have raised four kids and that’s something that I’m very proud of.”

In a few years Hoffman will be up for promotion to Admiral and says if she is selected she will be honored, but if it doesn’t happen she’s just glad too be doing a job she loves to do.

“I’ve had a great career and I’m still having fun. When it stops being fun, then that’s when I’ll retire.”