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.
Ashleigh Hinde, Founder and CEO of WALDO, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss why now is a good time to make eyecare a priority, and how they are democratizing access to eyecare for all.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: WALDO CEO breaks down why now is a good time to make eyecare a priority, and how they are democratizing access to eyecare for all; COO at PetDx explains how next-generation sequencing technology is being used to detect cancer in pets early; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Inside The Mind of a Con Artist.'
Plans to add affordable housing to a development in Yellow Springs, Ohio, were squashed after comedian Dave Chappelle and other community members spoke out against the project. Chappelle threatened to pull the plug on his local comedy club and restaurant projects if the development had been approved.
Jason Moser, Senior Analyst at The Motley Fool, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to talk about the big takeaways from Disney's Q1 report, which showed the company nearing 130 million Disney+ subscribers as parks revenue ticks up.
Shares of Canadian cannabis giant Canopy Growth surged after the company reported Q3 earnings Wednesday morning, with shares up more than 15 percent at the close of the day's trading session. Despite net revenue declining year-over-year, Canopy beat analyst expectations and has ramped up efforts to develop a "THC ecosystem' in the U.S. Canopy Growth's CEO, David Klein, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the report. He noted that its brands Storz & Bickel vaporizers and BioSteel beverages showed record growth.
Florists are dreading weekend pickups for this year's Valentine's Day, which lands on a Monday. Christina Stembel, founder and CEO of Farmgirl Flowers joined Cheddar News to discuss the challenges presented by shortages caused by supply chain issues, lack of labor, and climate change and how her company is preparing for this year's holiday. “A Monday delivery is just really hard for small businesses like us," said Stembel. "Larger companies have the scale that some of the large transportation carriers will provide a Sunday pick up for Monday delivery, but for small companies like us, that's not an option. So we have to try to convince people to order early."
PLAY, a low-cost airline headquartered in Iceland, is expanding service to New York Stewart International Airport, marking its third destination in the United States. PLAY is the latest affordable carrier to fly onto the scene, debuting its first flights a little more than six months ago. Birgir Jonsson, CEO of PLAY, joined Cheddar to discuss what this expansion means for the airline and what it's been like to lead a new airline during a pandemic. "For us to get into the market now, have the availability of great, brand new aircraft at historically low prices, and basically being able to secure a low operating cost base for the future is a completely rare opportunity," Jonsson said. "We can get into the market now when our competitors are also weak."
