Georgia Clark Sadler

Georgia Clark Sadler, Captain, US Navy, Retired, 1941-2022, died peacefully on 30 November 2022 in Inova Alexandria Hospital of complications due to Alzheimer's disease.  At her beside were her loving husband of 47 years, retired US Navy Reserve Captain Dudley Sadler and a caring and supportive hospital staff.  Georgia's and Dudley's equally loving niece and sole surviving next of kin remained in compassionate communication from her home in Nashville Tennessee.

Among her many other accomplishments, Georgia was a pioneer for women in the US military. 

One highlight of her distinguished career was her appointment in 1972 as the first woman faculty member at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis.  She was an instructor in the political science department where she taught American government and comparative government.  This groundbreaking assignment got her an invitation to appear as a contestant on the TV show “What's My line!” 

Other highlights were yet to come.

Georgia's childhood years were spent in Los Angeles California and elsewhere in the USA until her father, Thomas E. Clark, moved the family (with her mother Anne and sister Carol) to Saudi Arabia for his job with the Arabian American Oil Company.  She attended high school in Beirut Lebanon from 1955 to 1958 when she and her schoolmates were evacuated during one of Lebanon’s political crises.  Upon return to the States she attended Drury College in Springfield Missouri where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962.  Georgia was commissioned as an Ensign in the US Navy in March 1963 at the Women Officers School in Newport Rhode Island, graduating first in her class! 

Her early assignments as a junior officer were in Washington, DC, and in Hawaii. From 1967 to 1968 she attended the Defense Intelligence School in Washington, DC, completing the course as an honor graduate.  After completing a tour of duty at the Defense Intelligence Agency, she was accepted as a graduate student at the University of Washington’s School of Public Affairs and was awarded a Master’s Degree in 1972.  From there she was selected for her instructorship at the US Naval Academy

After her instructor tour at Annapolis, in 1975, she began what she personally considered her most satisfying career accomplishment: In 1975 she became the first woman intelligence briefer to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff.  She regularly briefed the top echelons of the federal government, including the Secretary of Defense, senior White House and Congressional staff members, and all heads of service intelligence branches.

After subsequently completing a distinguished tour with the Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Captain Sadler attended the National War College in Washington, DC from 1979 to 1980. The geographic focus of her studies was the Middle East and included a class trip to the area where she met Jordanian Crown Prince Hassan, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and President Anwar Sadat of Egypt.

After the National War College, Captain Sadler reported to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations as head of women's programs.  She was responsible for plans, programs and policies concerning women in the Navy.  She was especially involved with the new program to assign women to ships and aviation squadrons.  As Georgia told it, there was much resistance to allowing females on board ships, but not long after the first women were assigned, the ships' commanding officers and Chief Petty Officers were calling to request more female personnel!

From 1982 to 1985 Captain Sadler was assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency as a Deputy Director for Intelligence in charge of the National Military Intelligence Center.  She was responsible for supervising many intelligence analysts in providing worldwide current Intelligence to the Joint Chiefs and the Defense Department.   Subsequently she became the head of the Warsaw Pact Division for the agency’s Current Intelligence Directorate.  She was the first woman to hold these two positions.

Georgia retired from the Navy in 1991 after completion of her final tour with the Chief of Naval Operations Staff.

In retirement, Captain Sadler became a willing and active resource of information on military women's issues contributing to numerous books, journals, radio and television news programs.  At the invitation of the Australian Army, in March 2001, she presented a paper in Canberra on the history of women in the military in American society from our Revolutionary War to the present.  She was the director of the Women in the Military Project at the Women's Research and Education Institute in Washington DC.  She also was on the original board of directors of the Women in Military Service for America memorial which is located at the gateway to Arlington National Cemetery.

Georgia also became a skilled woodworker.  After attending the Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Indiana, she became quite proficient in marquetry and parquetry, creating many beautiful pieces of artwork, which she enjoyed having on display to share with her fellow Goodwin House Alexandria residents.

Georgia was a deeply kind woman who was very well loved.  Her passion and drive for equality for women in the military became her mission.  Her understanding of the challenges military women faced, paired with a firm yet non-threatening approach, paved the way for future generations of military women.

Georgia now rests with the “Eternal Father, Strong to Save.”

May her deeds and sacrifices be honored for years to come. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association in Georgia’s name.

Click the link below for a detailed biography of Georgia's career published by The Naval History and Heritage Command.

https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/browse-by-topic/people/trailblazers/georgia-c-sadler.html

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