Carol M. Pottenger is a retired United States Navy flag officer. She was among the first women to be assigned to serve at sea in 1978, the first female admiral to command a major combat organization, Amphibious Force 7th Fleet/Expeditionary Strike Group Seven, encompassing the amphibious forces assigned to the western Pacific; and the first female admiral to lead a combatant force "type command", Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, charged with the manning, training and equipping of over 40,000 expeditionary sailors in preparation for combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as global security assistance operations. Her final naval post was with NATO as deputy chief of staff for capability and development at Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, Norfolk, Virginia, the first fe