Woman honored on Staten Island for historic promotion to admiral in US Coast Guard

ST. GEORGE, Staten Island (WABC) -- A special proclamation was issued Friday to a woman who will soon become the highest-ranking Black woman in the Coast Guard's 223-year history.

Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella congratulated Capt. Zeita Merchant on her upcoming promotion to the rank of admiral at Borough Hall.
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Merchant says she originally planned to stay with the Coast Guard for three years, but 27 years later, she's still there after what she calls a lot of sacrifice, perseverance and hard work.

"This promotion allows people below me to see what they can be, with hard work, and then also allows our communities and where we serve every day to know that the Coast Guard is a place in which they can join and be whatever it is that they want to be," Merchant said.
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Merchant will take over a new post in Washington, D.C., once she is promoted in April.

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