Lincoln Celebrates Women’s History Month

Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Juan Cubano | 170303-N-SA173-040 NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (March 3, 2017) A special “Rosie the Riveter” cake was created by the bakery shop aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) for the command’s Women's History Month observance on the ship's mess deck. The event honored trailblazing Navy women such as Rear Adm. Grace Hopper, Capt. Sarah Joyner, and Chief Yeoman Loretta Walsh. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Juan Cubano/Released)  

NEWPORT NEWS, VA, UNITED STATES

03.03.2017

Story by Chief Petty Officer Amy Kirk 

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)   

The National Women's History Project's theme for Women's History Month 2017 is “Honoring Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business."
The ceremony paid tribute to three Navy women who have broken barriers and blazed a trail for other women to follow – Rear Adm. Grace Hopper, a pioneer computer programmer, Chief Yeoman Loretta Walsh, the first female chief petty officer Navy, and Capt. Sarah Joyner, the first woman to command a strike-fighter squadron.
The event’s guest speaker, Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt, Lincoln’s executive officer as well as the first female executive officer of a Navy aircraft carrier, had a key message for the crew about taking advantage of all opportunities that life hands you.
“I take it all back to something I learned very early on from a very important woman in my life,” said Bauernschmidt, referencing her mother as a pivotal part of her naval success. “Never pass up an opportunity.”
Bauernschmidt was a senior at the U.S. Naval Academy when Congress repealed the combat exclusion law that prevented women from serving on combatant ships. She said her class was about 50 days away from selecting future assignments and this changed act changed the course of her military career.
“The Navy chose not to pass up an opportunity; they found a way to get the women from my class on destroyers, cruisers and on combat aircraft,” said Bauernschmidt. “I could have chosen several different career paths, and I chose naval aviation.
Opportunities can be big or small, extra study time for the exam or putting in an officer package, said Bauernschmidt, but every day the Navy gives you opportunities to improve.
“Never pass up an opportunity. You never know if it will impact your life for a day or week. It may affect everyone around you, and it may change the entire course of your life,” she said.
Abraham Lincoln is in the final stages of a four-year RCOH and will be delivered back to the fleet early this year.

• Date Taken: 03.03.2017
• Date Posted: 03.08.2017 17:54
• Story ID: 226208
• Location: NEWPORT NEWS, VA, US