A female general of the U.S. Army made military history Friday by becoming the first female four-star general.

Gen. Ann Dunwoody, 55, of Virginia, was promoted to the rank during a well-attended ceremony for that purpose at the Pentagon. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, all of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Central Command Commander Gen. David Petraeus were present in the rite.

President Bush nominated Dunwoody to the four-star rank in June. She is on her 33rd year of service in the Army starting as a second lieutenant at a post in Oklahoma in 1975.

In her speech after the promotion, Dunwoody said she never expected to reach that far in her military career because she was just planning to work for two years in Army and then become a physical education teacher.

"While I know I may be the first woman to achieve this honor, I know with certainty, I won't be the last," she said, according to ABC News.