Former San Diego commander nominated to be Naval Academy superintendent

SAN DIEGO -- Rear Adm. Yvette Davids, former commander of a San Diego-based warship, has been nominated to be the next superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy.

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael M. Gilday also nominated Davids to become a vice admiral, USNA stated Friday in a news release.

If the U.S. Senate confirms Davids' nomination, she would be the first woman to become superintendent of the Annapolis, Maryland service academy and the 64th person to assume the role since it was founded in 1845.

Davids earned a Bachelor of Science in Oceanography from USNA before going on to graduate from the Naval War College with a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies in 2002. She then earned a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in 2012.

Davids, who is from San Antonio, Texas, was the first Hispanic woman to command a Navy warship when she was assigned to the USS Curts, a frigate homeported at Naval Base San Diego. This earned her the Mexican American Women's National Association's Las Primeras Award for Latinas in 2008.

Davids has also commanded USS Bunker Hill and Carrier Strike Group 11.