A native of Lake Linden, Michigan, Capt. Strieter enlisted in the United States Navy in 1995. Her enlisted tours include Nuclear Field Electronic Technician A-school, Nuclear Power School, Naval Nuclear Power Training Unit and aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, serving in the Reactor Controls Division where she qualified as reactor operator and shutdown reactor operator. She enlisted before completing her college education.
Capt. Strieter chose the Lincoln Memorial as the site for her promotion because of the respect she has for him despite his lack of a formal education.
“President Lincoln is one of my favorite people and one of the things I like about him is he was self-educated and self-motivated to make himself better,” said Capt. Strieter. “He did not need a formal education to become President of the United States. I thought, ‘Hey, if he could do that, I can do anything I want.’”
Capt. Strieter later graduated from Michigan Technological University in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering. She was selected for Officer Candidate School in the Civil Engineer Corps and was commissioned as an ensign in July of 2000. She earned a Master of Engineering in project management from the University of Maryland in May of 2009.
Rear Adm. Aguayo took note of Capt. Strieter’s ambition and shared a quote from the 16th President of the United States.
“President Lincoln said, ‘I do not think much of a man,’ or in this case a woman, ‘who is not wiser today than she was yesterday,’” said Rear Adm. Aguayo. “So, that is what Juli kept doing. Every day, challenging herself and learning more. She never stops.”
As an officer, Capt. Strieter’s tours include deployment to the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as Charlie Company commander and assistant training officer with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion FOUR. In 2014, she had the distinction of being the first permanent party stationed at Naval Support Facility Deveselu, Romania, and was on the forefront of the establishment of the Navy’s first new installation in over 20 years. She later served as the Facilities Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization analyst to the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations and oversaw all aspects from programming through execution of sustainment and recapitalization across the Navy’s $305 billion shore enterprise.
Taking measure of her impressive career so far, Rear Adm. Aguayo recognized Capt. Strieter’s family and her wife, Monica.
“[Sailors] do not do this alone. We need our family support. The entire extended family, all of you, play a part in this. Your love and support for Monica and Juli are essential to their success. Monica, I want to thank you in particular. There is a lot of sacrifice that comes with this and I know you have been there to help Juli every step of the way.”
Capt. Strieter follows in her family’s tradition of Naval service. Her father was an aviation ordnanceman who served on the USS Forrestal during the Vietnam War and was aboard during the fire disaster in 1967. Her uncle, Ted Strieter, who was in attendance, served for 28 years as a Navy boiler technician. In addition to her family, the ceremony was well attended by her Navy family, many of whom are Seabees.
“In the Lincoln Memorial, a phrase is engraved from his Second Inaugural. ‘With malice toward none with charity for all.’ That is very similar to the inscription on the Seabee Memorial, which reads, ‘With compassion for others, we build, we fight for peace with freedom,’ said Capt. Strieter. “I think that fits.”