Bette Bolivar
United States Naval Officer
Babette Rose Bolivar (born 1962) is a retired United States Navy rear admiral who last served as the commander of Navy Region Southwest (nicknamed "The Navy Mayor of San Diego") from March 14, 2019, to July 16, 2021. She was the second woman and first Filipino-American to command the navy region, which covers California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico.
She previously served as the 42nd commander of Navy Region Southeast from February 2017 to February 2019, with tours as commander of Navy Joint Region Marianas and Task Force West, dual-hatted as PACOM representative to Guam from August 2014 to January 2017, commander of Navy Region Northwest from June 2013 to July 2014, commanding officer of Naval Weapons Station Yorktown from August 2007 to June 2010 and commanding officer of USS Salvor (ARS-52) in the 1990s. She was promoted to her latest rank on March 1, 2014.
She retired from active duty in 2021 after relinquishing command of Navy Region Southwest to Stephen D. Barnett.
Early life and education
A native of Hawaii, Bolivar was raised by traditional Filipino-American parents, retired U.S. Navy sailor Ted Sereno Bolivar from Nabua, Camarines Sur, and Virginia Dolor Bolivar from Pangasinan. She received her commission from the United States Naval Academy where she received a B.S. degree in oceanography in 1985. She also has an M.S. degree in management from Troy University.
Service
In 2017, Bolivar was officially reprimanded by then-commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Philip S. Davidson for three of five substantiated allegations against her in relation to the Fat Leonard scandal which took place during her command of the USS Salvor in 1998. Davidson's letter of reprimand determined that Bolivar had wrongly accepted gifts in the form of "a free hotel room, dinner, drinks, entertainment and a golf excursion" from Leonard Glenn Francis, owner of Glenn Defense Marine Asia.
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