A navy captain made history as the first woman to command a U.S. nuclear carrier Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.
Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt led the USS Abraham Lincoln as it deployed from Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California, the outlet reported. The ship deployed as part of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, the outlet noted.
The U.S. Navy announced that Bauernschmidt would take command of the USS Abraham Lincoln in a Dec. 2020 press release. Bauernschmidt had previously served as the first woman executive officer aboard an aircraft carrier — also the Lincoln — from 2016 to 2019, the press release added. (RELATED: US Navy Plans Massive Expansion of Destroyer Fleet)
STRAIT OF HORMUZ – NOVEMBER 19: In this handout photo provided by the US Navy, The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), left, the Royal Navy air defense destroyer HMS Defender (D 36) and the guided-missile destroyer USS Farragut (DDG 99) transit the Strait of Hormuz on November 19, 2019. (Photo by Zachary Pearson- U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
“I am incredibly honored and humbled to be selected,” Bauernschmidt said in the same press release. “I love leading Sailors and I take that responsibility extremely seriously.”
Bauernschmidt took over command of the ship from Capt. Walt “Sarge” Slaughter in an Aug. 2021 ceremony in San Diego, reported the Navy Times.
Bauernschmidt graduated with her Bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1994, according to her biography on the Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet’s website. Bauernschmidt obtained a Master’s degree in 1996. She was designated a Naval Aviator the same year.
In another historic moment for the U.S. Navy, Commander Billie J. Farrell will become the first female commander of the USS Constitution on Jan. 21, reported the Daily Mail.