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.
A new mobile app has launched just in time for Valentine's Day. Our.Love bills itself as an A.I.-powered, gamified, relationship wellness app for couples. The app is set in what the company calls the Coupleverse, a virtual world where each couple can build a virtual relationship home as they also build their real-world relationship. Founder and CEO Tal Zlotnitsky joined Cheddar to discuss how the app works. "The concept behind Our.Love is to give people the opportunity to understand where they stand in their relationship through very simple metrics that we provide within the app that will help them in real-time, see where they stand, see where their partner is, and be able to get closer together," he said.
The Super Bowl is just 48 hours away and things are definitely heating up in the social media space, especially on Twitter. Fans across the country are quickly engaging in color commentary as they call it, and actively sharing their views on who's expected to take the big win, which players they are looking forward to seeing. Senior Sports Partner Manager at Twitter, David Herman, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Director and producer Ivan Reitman passed away over the weekend at the age of 75. The filmmaker was the mastermind behind some of America's favorite films such as "Ghostbusters". Reitman’s family released a statement explaining how they are comforted by the lives he has touched through his films.
The 21st Annual Food Network and Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF), is returning to Miami on February 24 with proceeds to benefit the future leaders of the hospitality industry. Lee Schrager, the founder and director of the festival, and Food Network star Jeff Mauro joined Cheddar News to discuss what ticket holders can expect, how the festival benefits students, and how Mauro will be paying tribute to fellow food celebrity, Guy Fieri, by hosting a charity auction dinner. "I mean there's nobody bigger, nobody more magnetic right now in the food space than Guy," Maura said. "I mean the guy had a Super Bowl commercial on last night. That's a dream of mine, so I'm one step closer there just by doing a tight 20 minutes at his tribute dinner."
