THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, May 12, 1996                   TAG: 9605120159
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A22  EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: NEWSDAY 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   53 lines

A LOOK AT THE FIVE WOMEN WHO CAPTAIN U.S. NAVY SHIPS

Here are biographical sketches of the five women who now captain U.S. Navy ships:

Cmdr. Lee Hackney has spent 18 years in the Navy after being commissioned after receiving a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Jacksonville University in Florida. Hackney, 40, began as engineering officer aboard the Yosemite between 1986-88; she was executive officer of the Merrimack before assuming command of the Willamette.

Cmdr. Linda Lewandowski, 38, is a ship's captain, a wife and a mother. Her husband, former Navy pilot Vahan Chertavian, takes care of their daughter, Aniela, in Fredericksburg, Va. Like her peers, Lewandowski has had tours in Washington, including a stint at the Brookings Institution before taking command of the Mount Baker. She has degrees from Ursinus College, Collegeville, Pa., and the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif.

Cmdr. Carol Pottenger, 41, from St. Petersburg, Fla., divides her time between the sea and her husband, Michael Condon. He keeps their home in San Francisco. Pottenger was one of the first women selected for sea duty after she was commissioned after graduation from Purdue University. She spent eight years on active duty before leaving the service. She returned in 1989 and became executive officer of the Kiska in 1991. She has been skipper of the Shasta since March.

Cmdr. Nori Ann Reed, from Sanibel Island, Fla., was commissioned after attending Officer Candidate School, Newport, R.I. She received a degree in zoology from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla. Her first ship, the submarine tender Guam in 1978, made her a pioneer in the Navy's Women at Sea program. She served on the Fulton, Yellowstone and as executive officer of the Platte before taking command of the Kiska. Reed, 39, spent shore duty in London and San Diego.

Cmdr. Roberta Spillane enlisted in the Navy as a hospital corpsman at Bethesda Naval Hospital before entering Officer Candidate School. After her commissioning in 1979, Spillane served aboard five ships. Spillane, from East Stroudsburg, Pa., has degrees from East Stroudsburg State College and San Diego State University. Spillane also was an instructor at the Surface Warfare Officers School program for prospective commanding officers. She is captain of the Norfolk-based Merrimack. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Cmdr. Lee Hackney, captain of the Navy oiler Willamette.

KEYWORDS: U.S. NAVY WOMEN IN THE MILITARY by CNB