Katherine L. Gregory was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1951. In 1982, she was one of 96 women in her class of 1,500 students to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy. She later received degrees in systems management and construction management from the University of Southern California and George Washington University; she also graduated from the London School of Business senior executive program. Gregory is a registered engineer, a Seabee Combat Warfare Officer and military parachutist.
Gregory began her career in the Navy’s Civil Engineer Corps. In 1986, she joined the Seabees. She was the only woman officer, and among just a handful of women (enlisted) in the company. According to her autobiography, she “wanted to be viewed as equal to my male counterparts and worked hard to stay fit and do everything right so no one could say, ‘Girls can’t do this stuff.’”
Gregory’s Seabee tours took her to the Western Pacific, Mediterranean, Iraq, Afghanistan and Haiti, along with several projects, like aiding construction and providing humanitarian relief after Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Beyond the Seabee tours, she held positions as a public works officer and in construction leadership around the world. In 2010, Gregory was promoted to commander of Naval Facilities Engineering Command and, in 2012, became chief of Civil Engineers.
Gregory retired in 2015. She returned home to the Midwest and settled in Ames, Iowa. She is currently the senior vice president for university services at Iowa State, a member of the CEC/Seabee Historical Foundation board of trustees.
Her awards include the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal and the Navy Achievement Medal. She was also recognized with the Navy Civil Engineer Corps Officer of the Year Award in 1998.
Throughout her career, Gregory was a trailblazer for women in the Navy, and she paved the way for future generations of women military leaders.
We honor her service.
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Writer: Sarah McDonald
Editors: Cate Manning, Marisa Bunton
Researcher: Raphael Romea
Graphic Designer: Kaylah Haywood
A portion of this story was generated by AI. None of the data we reported included personal or sensitive information, and it was fact-checked and edited by a human copy editor prior to publishing.
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Very inspiring. Commander Gregory is a credit to the Country, the Armed Forces and the Navy. She is an example to both men and women who aspire to make a difference and break barriers. GO NAVY!
(I am retired Air Force. We are Veterans)