The most potent and expensive surface weapon in the US military is a US Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Yesterday, one of them, the USS Abraham Lincoln, sailed from San Diego. And for the first time, the Navy deployed an aircraft carrier under the command of a woman, Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt. She is well-qualified for the job. She trained as a helicopter pilot and was the commanding officer of the "Spartans”, the HSM-70 helicopter squadron on the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush. In 2016, she was appointed executive officer of USS Abraham Lincoln. In 2019, she assumed command of the amphibious transport USS San Diego. On August 19, 2021, Bauernschmidt became the commanding officer of the USS Abraham Lincoln. And today the Lincoln is on active duty.
Interestingly, the USS Bush had seen a previous landmark when in 2010 Rear Admiral Nora Tyson was named the commander of Carrier Strike Group Two, the first woman to lead a carrier force — and the Bush was her flagship. But she achieved her management position without ever commanding an individual aircraft carrier, arguably the most demanding job in the Navy.
All of this should dispel the notion that there is any group of Americans who are incapable of producing warriors. The military may have once been a heterosexual, white, male bastion. But ever since Harry Truman integrated the armed forces in 1948, every previously excluded group has shown that it is as capable as any other in being both at the point of the spear and the apex of the chain of command.
But there is still a way to go before the military accurately reflects society. While enlisted personnel are reasonably diverse, and minority women have made significant inroads, senior officers are still overwhelmingly white. And women still only account for about 20% of all uniformed personnel — and only 8% of the Marine Corps.
A legacy effect holds women back in some trades and professions — like construction, first responders, mechanics, engineering, and sciences, while they are overrepresented in others — such as primary education, nursing, secretarial, psychologists, opticians, and court clerks. The military is no different. It celebrates assumed traditional male attributes like strength, aggression, and risk-taking. But like everything else, the military has become far more high-tech, and mental skills are in great demand. And there, women have no disadvantage, real or imagined.
One other notable fact of the Abraham Lincoln’s deployment is that the officers and crew are 100% vaccinated against COVID.
The military is far from perfect. But it tends to meritocracy and embraces medicine, so that’s worth celebrating.
Time for a Commander in Chief , thanks Pitt