Jamaica-born Lorna Mahlock has achieved historical significance by becoming the first black woman to hold the position of the two-star general in the US Marine Corps.
Early this month, US President Joe Biden proposed Brigadier General Mahlock for promotion to major general, and the Senate approved her proposal two Thursdays ago.
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Mahlock, a Kingston native, immigrated to the country in 1985 when she was 17 years old. She settled in Brooklyn with her family.
Soon after landing in the country of North America, she enrolled in the Marines.
Mahlock, 54, is the combat support deputy director of cybersecurity for the National Security Agency, and he is stationed in Fort Meade, Maryland.
She has held a variety of positions during her career, including those with the US European Command in Germany, the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in Japan, and Marine Tactical Air Command Squadron 38 in Southern California.
She has held positions of command and leadership in various capacities both abroad and in combat, including those of air traffic control detachment commander, director of the Marine Corps Instructional Management School, air control officer, G3 Future Operations 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, company commander for Operations Southern Watch and Operation Iraqi Freedom 1, operations and executive officer for Operation Iraqi Freedom 2, and director for Marine Air Command and Control System Experimental.
Mahlock holds a master’s degree in adult and higher education from the University of Oklahoma at Norman, a master’s degree with distinction in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College, a master’s degree in strategic studies from the United States Army War College, and a master’s certificate in information operations from the Naval Postgraduate School. According to the US Military’s website, she is also an alumnus of the United Kingdom Defence College Higher Command and Staff source.
Throughout her distinguished career, she has received numerous awards, including the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Navy, and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Navy, and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal.
In an interview with the Marquette University an institute that aided in nourishing Mahlock potential, she noted,“I went to an all-girls Catholic school in the Caribbean, and then coming to the Jesuit construct was very helpful to me.”
She added, “the professors at the NROTC (Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps) unit at Marquette really embraced the idea that in order to make folks better, you had to know their story, meet them where they were, and help them on the journey.”
Mahlock has seen significant advances for women in the Marine Corps throughout the years. Women were not allowed to serve in combat until 2016. “I’ve seen that barrier lifted in my career,” she noted in a previous interview that was done a year ago. “We’ve got women flying strike aircraft, women in the infantry and artillery and tanks. Regardless of where you’re from or your color, gender, or ethnicity, we’re just trying to figure out how to build the best fighting force.”
