Dearborn native fastest woman ranked to Master Chief in U.S. Navy

A sailor from Dearborn was the fastest woman to be ranked as Master Chief in the United States Navy.

Women make up only 30% of the Navy, and only a fraction serve in senior roles.

Now consider this: Less than 1% of women who join the Navy attain the rank of Master Chief. And of all the Master Chiefs in Navy Recruiting, Heather Charara oversees them all.

The Arab American trailblazer hails from Dearborn. Local 4 caught up with the impressive role model as she met with family for the holidays.

“They all spoke so highly of her, and I said, ‘how do you know Heather?’ And they’d say, ‘she was my command leader,’” said KC Charara, Heather’s father.

Charara became the fastest woman to be promoted to master chief in the Career Recruiter Force. She was only 19 when she joined the Navy. Initially, her Dad was against the idea.

“Heather had always been in a leadership role growing up as a kid. So the more I thought about it, the less it surprised me,” said KC.