Meet REAR ADMIRAL
eileen laubacher

Service to country is in my blood.

I served in the United States Navy for 34 years. I am the daughter and granddaughter of Navy veterans. My father retired from the Navy after 37 years of service to our nation, and my grandfather was a frogman in World War II. It was always my desire to follow in their footsteps. I became determined to go to the United States Naval Academy when I was in preschool, well before women could even attend. I was delighted in 1976 when the first women were admitted, and I joined the 11th class with women in July of 1986.

I graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1990 and began the great adventure of naval service. After more than seven years as an intelligence officer serving in the United States and abroad, I left active duty and joined the Navy Reserve. My sister had already settled in Colorado, and so my husband Chris and I decided to make it our home as well, moving into the same house that we live in today. 

Our five wonderful children were born here in Colorado, and my husband and I were proud to raise them here, homeschooling them at our kitchen table. By the time I deployed to Afghanistan in 2009, my parents had moved into a house down the street, and that family support was a Godsend for my husband. The kids were 10, 8, 6, 4, and 1 when I left, and it was a long year for all of us. Our Colorado friends, neighbors, and family were a tremendous source of love and support for us through that year.  

When I became an Admiral in 2018, the Navy asked me to undertake our biggest adventure yet and we moved to New Delhi, India. I was the Senior Defense Official and Defense Attache there from 2019 to 2022. After finishing that tour, we wanted to return home to Colorado, but duty called again, and I was asked to join the National Security Council to serve as the Senior Director for South Asia. Chris and my two youngest children moved back home, where they graduated from our local public school. Meanwhile, I fulfilled my mission in Washington, DC. 

I retired from the Navy in October 2024 and returned to our home in Colorado, looking forward to more time with my husband, children, and our three grandchildren. And then I felt the pull of service once more.   

Why I’m Running

I was 17-years-old when I raised my right hand for the first time and took an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I took those words, and that responsibility, seriously every day for nearly 4 decades. But in all those years, I have never felt as much of a threat to our country, our Constitution, our very democracy, as I do at this time.  

I have frequently said that I would never run for office. But in this moment, I feel an obligation to step up to try to make a difference. I feel called to serve my country, and specifically Colorado, once more.

The people of Colorado’s 4th congressional district deserve serious and honest representation of their concerns and struggles.

They deserve a Congressperson who is willing to work tirelessly to make the Government deliver for them – not corporate donors and billionaires.

They deserve someone who believes in service before self.

Lauren Boebert is not that person. I am.