Sixty female cadets from the 217 Reserve Officer's Training Corps at Sookmyung Women’s University had the opportunity to meet with Rear Admiral Lisa Franchetti, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea, Jan 8, to discuss her command philosophy and ideas on career development.

Rear Admiral Franchetti, who is the first U.S. female service component commander to be stationed on the Korean peninsula, spoke to 30 juniors and 30 seniors from the prominent Seoul-based women's university about how she achieved her career goals of serving as the commanding officer of a U.S. Navy warship and becoming a U.S. Navy flag officer.
 
Speaking to the female cadets about leadership and life balance, Rear Admiral Franchetti expressed her hope that her professional accomplishments would inspire both male and female future leaders to do their best, work hard, and reach their full potential in service to their country.
 
"Leaders come in all shapes and sizes,” said Franchetti. “And leadership traits are not specific to men or women. Being a good leader is about being you and doing what you need to do to take care of your people.”

Rear Admiral Franchetti's also advised cadets to strive for excellence in their professional careers and trust that their military or organization will reward them for their hard work.
 
"When I first came in the Navy, I learned what qualifications and experiences I needed to have to be successful as a surface warfare officer and serve on a combatant ship,” said Franchetti. “So I worked hard to get them, and then when the door opened in 1994 for women to serve on combatant ships, I was standing there waiting and ready to walk through that door.”
 
The guest lecture was part of an ongoing outreach effort at CNFK to strengthen bonds between the U.S. Navy and citizens from the Republic of Korea.

Rear Admiral Franchetti was commissioned in 1985 through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps Program at Northwestern University, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism. During her career, she commanded USS Ross (DDG 71), and served as the Commodore of Destroyer Squadron 21, where she was the Sea Combat Commander for the John C. Stennis Strike Group. She also served as the Commander of Pacific Partnership 2010, embarked on USNS Mercy (T-AH 19).
 
As its name indicates, Sookmyung is a clear and bright university that is forging some of the best military leaders of the future in the Republic of Korea. The 217 ROTC unit is the first of its kind for women in Korea and was established in September 2010 at Sookmyung University whose name comes from ancient characters meaning "clear" and "bright". The goal of the program is to train female military officers who would graduate with both a career field of study and military knowledge through two years of educational training in the ROTC. This is the third class of students to participate in the program since November 2010, when Sookmyung University selected 30 sophomore students to be the first women in the Republic of Korea to join the ROTC program.
 
Since its inception, the 217 ROTC unit has commissioned 55 female officers into the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army, according to the Sookmyung University website. In 2012, Sookmyung University's ROTC program was ranked number 1 against all other ROTC programs in the Republic of Korea.

Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Korea is the regional commander for the U.S. Navy in the Republic of Korea and provides expertise on naval matters to area military commanders, including the Commander for the United Nations Command, the Combined Forces Command, and Commander, U.S. Forces Korea.