Shanti Sethi, the first Indian-American commander of a major US Navy combat ship, recently joined Vice President Harris' office, Politico news website quoted vice president's senior advisor Herbie Ziskend

FREMONT, CA: The office of US Vice President Kamala Harris has appointed Shanti Sethi, a pioneering Indian-American Navy veteran, as its executive secretary and adviser on defense. Another source named Politico news website revealed that Vice President Harris' senior advisor Herbie Ziskend, Sethi, the first Indian-American commander of a major US Navy battleship, joined the vice president's office. The job description of Sethi's new position at the Vice President's Office is to coordinate National Security Advisor material.

From December 2010 to May 2012, Sethi commanded the guided-missile warship USS Decatur. As a first-time commander of a US naval vessel visiting India, she was the first woman to do so. When she entered the Navy in 1993, the combat exclusion law was still in effect, so her options were limited. However, the Exclusion Act was taken away once she became an officer. In an interview given the previous year, Sethi recollected how she could move on to have a career path that was much available to her due to the highly male-dominated workplace.

Sethi was born in the city of Reno, Nevada. Her mother was born in Canada and became a naturalized US citizen at the age of 12, according to the USA Today story. At the same time, her father immigrated to the United States from India in the early 1960s. According to the report, her time in the Navy taught her not to underestimate herself or hide her aspirations. Sethis had previously stated that one couldn’t be what someone else wants you to be. One has to accept yourself as you are and believe that this is who you are and can succeed yourself. One need not act or pretend to be someone else.

Harris made history in 2021 when she became the country's first female Vice President. She is the daughter of an Indian immigrant from Chennai. The 57-year-old former California Senator also is the first African-American and South Asian-American vice president.