Burns, Gillian

Owned by Chandler Museum
Jun 10, 2022
1 min read

“At the onset of her senior year at Cal Poly Pomona, Gillian was among the first women to be accepted into the US Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program. After graduating from Nuclear Power School and Surface Warfare Officer School, Gillian was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN. She was the first woman to become concurrently qualified as a Nuclear Propulsion Watch Officer and Officer of the Deck on an aircraft carrier. Gillian deployed to the Persian Gulf during OPERATION SOUTHERN WATCH, and completed her Surface Warfare Officer qualifications on board the USS ELLIOT. She concluded her tour of service in 2003 at COMNAVAIRPAC, as a lead trainer with the Nuclear Propulsion Mobile Training Team.” -brief biography of military service submitted by Lt. Gillian Burns

Awards, Medals, and Commendations: SURFACE WARFARE OFFICER INSIGNIA, NAVY COMMENDATION MEDAL, NAVY ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL, MERITORIOUS UNIT COMMENDATION, GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR SERVICE MEDAL, NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL (2), ARMED FORCES EXPEDITIONARY SERVICE MEDAL, VOLUNTEER SERVICE MEDAL, SEA SERVICE RIBBON.