Christine Fox, the former chief budget and program analyst of the Pentagon has been named as the acting deputy secretary of defense until a permanent replacement is found.
The move has been labeled “unprecedented” by The Military Times.
Her impressive profile includes heading up a Naval think tank and four years at the Pentagon. But she also has an interesting claim to fame.
Fox was the inspiration for the Kelly McGillis character “Charlie” in the 1986 movie “Top Gun”. At the time, she was an analyst at the Navy’s premier flight school, the real Top Gun school, while working as a civilian employee for the CNA.
The character trains “Maverick” (Tom Cruise) and the pair become an item. In an iconic scene, Maverick approaches Charlie by singing “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling.”
The new deputy secretary position will make Fox the most powerful woman in the military and the highest ranking woman to ever serve for the Department of Defense. She replaces departing highly regarded Deputy Secretary Ashton Carter.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Carter needed to be replaced by someone with extensive knowledge of the Pentagon, and it appears Fox fits that bill.
Fox is a “brilliant defense thinker and proven manager,” Secretary Hagel said.
“Secretary Hagel has deep trust in her judgment,” a senior defense official said.
“Of anyone in the defense constellation, she brings the deepest analytical experience, which I think is going to be critical as we have to make tough choices ahead, particularly should sequestration [automatic, across-the-board spending cuts] continue.”
This article originally appeared on News.com.au.