BOSTON —

A woman is taking over as the commanding officer of the U.S.S. Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, for the first time in the warship's 224-year history, the Navy announced Tuesday.

Cmdr. Billie J. Farrell is scheduled to assume command at an on-board ceremony Jan. 21. She will relieve Cmdr. John Benda, who has led the ship's crew since February 2020.

“I am honored to have the privilege to soon command this iconic warship that dates back to the roots of both our nation and our Navy and to have been afforded the amazing opportunity to serve as U.S.S. Constitution’s first female commanding officer in her 224 years,” Farrell said in a statement.

Farrell is a native of Paducah, Kentucky, a 2004 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, and most recently served as the executive officer aboard U.S.S. Vicksburg, a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser, according to her Navy biography.

“I hope to strengthen the legacy of U.S.S. Constitution through preservation, promotion, and protection by telling her story and connecting it to the rich heritage of the United States Navy and the warships serving in the fleet today," she said.

The Constitution, based at Boston's Charlestown Navy Yard, 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. It earned the nickname Old Ironsides during the war of 1812, when British cannonballs were seen bouncing off its wooden hull.

It is crewed by active-duty sailors.

The first woman to serve on the Constitution's crew was enlisted sailor Rosemarie Lanam in 1986. The first woman to serve as a commissioned officer on the ship was Lt. Cmdr. Claire V. Bloom, who served as executive officer and led the 1997 sail, the first time Old Ironsides had sailed under her own power since 1881.

Women now make up more than one-third of the 80-person crew.

SAN DIEGO — The U.S. Navy christened its newest ship Saturday morning, launching the USNS Harvey Milk in a ceremony in Barrio Logan.

The ship is the second of six in the John Lewis class, all named after civil rights leaders. It will serve as a refurbishment ship, bringing fuel and supplies to other ships at sea.

"Given the mission of these vessels and the unarmed means of achieving it, it is wholly appropriate to name them after civil rights icons throughout our history," Vice-Admiral Jeff Hughes said.

Milk was the first openly gay man to hold elected office in California and was active in San Francisco city politics. He became a pioneering icon for the gay rights movement even after his assassination in 1978.

It's believed that Milk is the first openly gay person to have a naval ship named in his honor.

"My uncle never dreamed of having a ship, or a street, or a park, or a school named after him," said Stuart Milk, the nephew of Harvey Milk, who spoke at the christening ceremony Saturday. "What we celebrate today is that the Navy honors the difference between tolerance and acceptance."

Alex Gallardo/AP

"He fought for people that cared. He made a difference," added Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro. "That's the kind of Naval leaders we need in officer corps and our enlisted corps and our civilian workforce."

Navy Veteran Paula Neira, one of the ship's sponsors and the Clinical Program Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Transgender Health, says it's a key distinction, especially considering the policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," that the military kept in place for decades before its repeal in 2011.

"When Harvey Milk sails, she'll send a message both domestically and around the globe to everybody that believes in justice and freedom and liberty, that there is a place for you in this family," Neira said.

Saturday's christening was closed to the public because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, a few dozen people who helped build the ship gathered in a parking lot across the street to watch the launch and celebrate years of hard work.

"There was a lot of dedication and time we put into it," said Ben Hubert, an employee at Supervisor Shipbuilding. "It means a lot."

Hubert joined friends and family in a champagne toast as the ship launched.

Alex Gallardo/AP

"It's was a little emotional, I guess, to think about all the time that was spent on it. It's a proud feeling," he said.

For Joe Sapuppo, it was a chance to share his career with the ones he loves. He's proud to work on a ship named after a civil rights leader.

"It's great to show this to my girlfriend and her family," he says. "For them to get to experience a little bit of what I do is fun."

The ship will still need a year of final construction and testing before the Navy takes full control.

This story was originally published by Jared Aarons on Scripps station KGTV in San Diego.

CINCINNATI — Serving his country was always part of Jason Snow’s journey, but doing that with the Ohio National Guard was never on the radar.

After graduating high school in 1993, he joined the U.S. Navy to get money to further his education. He served for four years, hanging up his service uniforms in 1997.

But the pull of duty would come back to him four years later, on Sept. 11, 2001.

Snow was working a forklift at the time in a factory.

“Someone came up and told me that a plane crashed into the Twin Towers," Snow said. "I said, 'Well, an air traffic controller must have really messed up on that one.' Then the second one. Then, I started to think, like what's going on? And then another co-worker said the Pentagon just got hit. And I said, 'Well, that's impossible. You can't get to the Pentagon.'

"I knew at that moment that we are under attack, and I need to do something personally.”

Four months later, Snow joined the Guard.

“I was mentally prepared, yes," Snow said. "Already having the military background and knowing what it takes to be successful and to lead. I had those already.”

And Snow’s nearly 20-year journey sent him all over the world.

“There's been a series of deployments, from Germany to Iraq, to Washington, D.C.,” he said.

Fellow Ohio National Guard member Dylan Stenski, on the other hand, has no memory of that day. He had just turned 21 months old.

Provided photo

“I have absolutely no recollection of anything that happened," he said. "I don't remember anything."

While Stenski would learn the historical significance of 9/11 in school, he also learned that his father wanted to step up and enlist. It would prove to be a tall task with a toddler and another baby on the way.

Now Stenski is tasked with signal system support for the Ohio National Guard, in the same unit as Sgt. 1st Class Snow.

“It's an opportunity; it's a privilege,” Stenski said. “I grew up not having to worry about an attack on American soil because there were other people out there protecting me. So now there's me in that position. “

Sfc. Snow is the 1-174^th Air Defense Artillery Regiment’s battalion master gunner and readiness NCO.

Provided photo

“That gives me the opportunity to get the soldiers ready for these higher op-tempo deployments that we have, you know, around the country and overseas, as well,” Snow said.

The Guard changed after 9/11. It is no longer just sent out on humanitarian missions domestically. Many soldiers spent months, if not years, overseas in Iraq or Afghanistan.

As Sfc. Snow reflects on 9/11, the day that pulled him back to duty, and Cpl. Stenski looks back to a day he doesn’t remember but feels its effects daily on his enlistment, each say it is both history and reality.