Liberty County native Annie B. Andrews of the U.S. Navy was promoted March 1 to the rank of rear admiral in a ceremony at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Rear admiral lower half is equivalent in rank to a brigadier general in the Army. Andrews is the third African-American female to achieve that rank in the Navy and the first woman in Georgia. 
“I am humbled, grateful, thankful and blessed,” Andrews said.
Family attendees who assisted in placing the admiral’s new rank were: Andrews’ mother, retired Capt. Electa Andrews, formerly of the Liberty County Sheriff Office; Andrews’ sister and brother-in-law, Deborah Andrews Dawson and Lorenzo Dawson, and their son, DeAngelo Dawson. Several Liberty County residents also were in attendance.
Andrews attended Liberty County Elementary School and graduated from Philadelphia High School for Girls in Philadelphia, Pa. She received her military commission through Savannah State University’s ROTC program.
Andrews served as commanding officer of the Boston military entrance processing station, Navy recruiting district San Francisco and the Navy’s recruit training command, where she led the training and education efforts of more than 100,000 recruits for service in the fleet worldwide.
Andrews also served as the executive assistant and naval aide to the assistant secretary of the Navy for manpower and reserve affairs and on the chief of naval operation strategic studies group. She currently is the director of Navy total-force requirements division and directs the Navy Safe Harbor Program overseeing the Navy and Coast Guard seriously wounded, ill and injured service members. 
Andrews will be the featured speaker at this year’s Eleven Black Men of Liberty County scholarship banquet at 6:15 p.m. Saturday, March 24, at Club Stewart. To buy tickets or for information, call 876-2133, 368-3333 or 368-7675.