San Diego: Captain Amy Bauernschmidt was appointed the commanding officer of the USS Abraham Lincon, the first time in the history of the US Navy that a woman has been assigned to lead a nuclear carrier. The USS Abraham Lincoln was deployed on Monday from Naval Air Station North Island as part of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group.
Bauernschmidt, who previously served as the Abraham Lincoln's executive officer from 2016 to 2019, took over command from Capt. Walt Slaughter during a ceremony last August, CBS 8 in San Diego reported.
“There is no more humbling sense of responsibility than to know you are entrusted with the care of the people who have chosen to protect our nation,” Bauernschmidt said, according to a Navy news release. “Thank you, Capt. Slaughter, for turning over the finest ship in the fleet.”
She has also served as the commanding officer of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 70 and the amphibious transport dock San Diego, clocking in more than 3,000 flight hours during her career, the news station reported.
The Carrier Strike Group is led by the command staff of Carrier Strike Group 3 and consists of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, Carrier Air Wing 9, the guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay and the guided-missile destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 21 — USS Fitzgerald, USS Gridley, USS Sampson and USS Spruance.
The strike group is deploying with what the Navy is touting as its “most advanced air wing” and is heading to the Indo-Pacific region.
Amy joined the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland to study marine engineering with the desire to be part of the Navy. Later, she joined the Naval Academy in Annapolis for further studies. She graduated in 1993. After graduation, he completed his higher studies at the Naval Nuclear Power School.
The first women to serve in the Navy were nurses in the early 20th century and the first large-scale enlistment of women came during World War II, according to an official military history website. The Navy first designated a woman aviator in 1974. The first women assigned to a combat ship was in 1994, on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.