Sunday, February 22, 2026

The Overnight Code: How Raye Montague Revolutionized the US Navy

Long before the world knew the names of the "Hidden Figures" at NASA, there was another trailblazer working in the halls of the U.S. Navy who would fundamentally change the course of maritime history. Raye Montague was a gifted mathematician and engineer who didn’t just break glass ceilings—she redesigned the entire building using a computer.

From a "Tin Can" to a Dream

Born Raye Jean Jordan in 1935 in Little Rock, Arkansas, her journey began at age seven. During World War II, her grandfather took her to see a captured German submarine. Fascinated by the controls and the mechanics, she asked the man in charge what she needed to know to do what he did. His answer: "You’d have to be an engineer, but you don’t have to worry about that."

He meant because she was Black and female. Raye, however, took it as a challenge. As her mother told her: "You will have three strikes against you... but you can be or do anything you want, provided you're educated" (BlackPast).

Breaking Barriers in the Navy

In the 1950s, segregation prevented Raye from studying engineering at the University of Arkansas. Undeterred, she earned a business degree from Arkansas AM&N and joined the Navy in 1956 as a clerk typist.

She was stationed next to a UNIVAC I, one of the world's first commercial computers. While the Ivy League-educated men were out sick one day, Raye—who had been quietly teaching herself how to operate the machine by watching them—stepped in and ran it herself. This display of brilliance eventually led to her promotion to computer systems analyst, though she was initially forced to work the night shift to "prove" her worth (A Mighty Girl).

The 19-Hour Miracle

Montague’s most famous achievement came in 1971. At the height of the Vietnam War, the Navy wanted to see if a computer could design a ship. Others had tried and failed for years. Her boss gave her a seemingly impossible deadline: one month to create a computer-generated rough draft of a warship.

Raye didn't need a month. By modifying existing automated systems and working through the night, she produced the initial draft for the Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate in just 18 hours and 56 minutes. A task that normally took two years of manual drafting was completed in less than a day (Encyclopedia of Arkansas).

A Lasting Legacy

Raye Montague retired in 1990 with the civilian equivalent rank of Captain. Her accomplishments include:

  • First Female Program Manager of Ships in the U.S. Navy.

  • Recipient of the Meritorious Civilian Service Award (1972).

  • Inductee into the Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame (2018).

In 2024, the Navy officially renamed the Maritime Technology Information Center at Carderock the Raye Montague Center for Maritime Technology, ensuring her name is permanently anchored in naval history (UA Little Rock).

"Don’t let people control you, you control the situation. Change obstacles into challenges." — Raye Montague


 


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