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.
Netlify, a platform that builds, deploys and hosts websites and apps, raised $105 million dollars in a Series D round, now valuing the company at $2 billion. Along with the funding, Netlify is also announcing the acquisition of the company OneGraph. Netlify says OneGraph's technology will drive a new wave of innovation on its platform, by making it easier to compose apps with the best developer tools available. Netlify co-founder and CEO Matt Biilmann joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Chip Paucek, CEO and co-founder of 2U, an educational tech company, joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to talk about the company's $800 million acquisition of online course provider edX featuring curriculum from Harvard and MIT. He noted that added services will provide 2U users with high quality, free options. "Us coming together with edX should allow us to really continue to drive affordability for people to unlock their own potential in a variety of different kinds of programs," he said.
Beginning Christmas Day, the home of the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, Kings, and Sparks, the Staples Center, will go by the name Crypto.com Arena after a massive $700 million deal with AEG. Steven Kalifowitz, the chief marketing officer at Crypto.com, and Todd Goldstein, the chief revenue officer at AEG, joined Cheddar to talk about the historic changeover in naming rights and what other changes that fans entering the arena might expect.
Jillian Hughes, communications director at Mental Health America, joined "Cheddar Wellness" to talk about her organization's annual report on mental wellbeing. She noted that more than 50 million Americans reported suffering from mental health problems with more than half of them going untreated. Hughes also talked about how the ongoing pandemic continues to impact people's mental health.
The iconic Los Angeles Staples Center will sport a new moniker, Crypto.com Arena, beginning Christmas Day. AEG made the naming-rights deal with Crypto for a historic $700 million.
Robbie Abed, Author of 'Fire Me I Beg You', discusses how the shift to remote work has changed the job landscape and how people can leverage their skills to better suit their lifestyle.
Jill is joined by “Friend of the Pod” Mosheh Oinounou to talk booster shots, and whether “fully vaccinated” will eventually mean three shots, not two. Plus, the latest on the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. And the research is in: we know now the perfect way to hug. Also, Jill and Mosheh debate whether Airpods are passé.
Over the years many people have gotten into the act of living a sustainable life all in the hopes of helping to protect and save the plant. However, some argue that living in this kind of fashion is expensive and only accessible to the wealthy. Editor at Large at CNET Farnoosh Torabi, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Former assistant U.S. attorney David A. Katz joins Cheddar News to discuss the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse and what factors have led to jury deliberations.
