A woman has taken command of the U.S.S. Constitution for the first time in its 224-year history.
By Mark Pratt
Women have assumed leadership positions throughout the Navy, so it was only fitting that a woman for the first time Friday took command of the U.S.S. Constitution — the Navy's most historic vessel.
Cmdr. Billie J. Farrell, 39, during a ceremony that started on land and ended on board, became the 77th commanding officer of the 224-year-old warship that earned the nickname Old Ironsides when British cannonballs bounced off its hull during the War of 1812.
“Of course, in our modern Navy, women have already commanded at all levels, but not this ship, the public's most accessible commissioned vessel, America's naval heritage," Rear Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, president of the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, said during the ceremony at Boston's Charlestown Navy Yard.
Farrell's appointment is an inspiration to others, she said.
“I can only hope that a new generation of people are inspired by seeing a woman as the captain of our ship of state, recognizing that for them too, there is no limit to what they can accomplish,” Chatfield said.
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro said during the ceremony that Farrell, who most recently served as the executive officer aboard the guided missile cruiser U.S.S. Vicksburg, is “the perfect leader to take command of this historic ship at this historic time.”
The significance of the command was not lost on Farrell, who was a teenager in 1998 when her family visited the ship, which is one of Boston's most popular attractions with about 500,000 tourists annually.
“Any person that walks on the decks of the ship is immediately standing on the page of history itself," said the native of Paducah, Kentucky, and 2004 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. “She also serves as a somber reminder of those that gave the ultimate sacrifice on her decks to create the nation that we know today. Her name carries the weight of the document to which we are all familiar, and to which all members of the armed services swear an oath to support and defend.”
Farrell relieved Cmdr. John Benda, who had led the ship’s crew since February 2020.
The Constitution is the world’s oldest commissioned warship still afloat. It played a crucial role in the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812 and defended sea lanes from 1797 until 1855. The ship was undefeated in battle and destroyed or captured 33 opposing vessels.
Today, it is crewed by about 80 active-duty sailors, about a third of whom are women.
The first woman to serve on the Constitution’s crew was Rosemarie Lanam in 1986. The first woman to serve as a commissioned officer on the ship was Lt. Cmdr. Claire Bloom, who served as executive officer and led the 1997 sail, the first time Old Ironsides had sailed under her own power since 1881.
Tattoo artist Katrina "Kat Tat" Jackson, famous for starring in the VH1 hit series "Black Ink Crew: Chicago," is also the first Black woman to own a tattoo shop in Beverly Hills. She joined Cheddar News to discuss her trailblazing work, the stigma BIPOC tattoo artists face in the industry, and the way the space has changed for artists of color since her start. "In the beginning, I remember walking into a tattoo shop just like, hey, I wanna learn, I wanna be a tattoo artist and kind of just being laughed at, not taken seriously," she said. "Even with the tattoo conventions, a lot of African American tattoo artists were almost scared to go to conventions because it's not a welcoming environment."
Jack Miller, Head of Trading at Baird, joined Closing Bell to break down how the Securities and Exchange Commission's proposals would change the landscape for individual investors, as they face stiff opposition from brokerages like Robinhood.
Robotics automation technology company Symbotic made its market debut on the Nasdaq via a SPAC merger with SVF Investment Corp. 3, a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of SoftBank Investment Advisers. Symbotic rang the Opening Bell at the Nasdaq to celebrate the occasion this morning. Its debut on Wall Street comes amid an urgent need for logistics solutions, as it aims to reimagine supply chains with its A.I.-powered robotic and software platform. Tom Earnst, CFO of Symbotic, and Vikas Parekh, managing partner at Softbank Investment Advisors, join Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The critically acclaimed film "The Northman" is now available on Peacock, DVD, and Blue Ray, and director Robert Eggers joined Cheddar News to discuss the process of getting everything right about his brutal drama. “Me and my collaborators were working with some of the finest Viking historians and archaeologists in the field when we were making this," he said. "So the material, culture, and the spiritual world is you know, the best attempt at historical accuracy."
Catching you up on today's top entertainment stories with Julia Garner of "Inventing Anna" has been considered as a front runner for the upcoming Madonna biopic, a "Joker" sequel has been confirmed, and Matthew McConaughey visited the White House to speak on the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, and more.
Meta announced its plans to join the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. This is leaving businesses and customers wondering what the tech giant has in store for the event. Nicola Mendelsohn, the vice president of the global business group at Meta, joined Cheddar News to preview what the tech giant will discuss at this year's festival. "We're going to be showcasing more about reels. We're going to be talking about our commerce solutions, are messaging solutions, and of course, the method of us speaking of new ways to kind of connect with customers," she said.
On today's episode of On The Job: Cheddar gets a look at how the salon and beauty industry has pivoted throughout the pandemic; Mark Brim, President of Aquent's Recruiting Division Vitamin T, breaks down how remote work has transformed hiring and recruiting process across the board;
Julie Bauke, President & Chief Career Strategist at The Bauke Group, breaks down why companies are being 'ghosted' by new hires, and what repercussions can come from this.
