Navy recommends first woman to command aircraft carrier

Dec. 9 (UPI) -- U.S. Navy Capt. Amy Braunschmidt is the first woman whose name appears on a recommendation list to command an aircraft carrier, the Navy announced.

Braunschmidt and five others are listed on the Navy Air Forces' "FY-22 [Fiscal Year 2022] Active-Duty Aviation Major Command Screen Board" of "Officers Recommended for Aviation Major Command."

She will command one of the Navy's 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, its crew of about 5,000 personnel and between 60 and 75 of its aircraft, although her assignment will be revealed at a later date.

Also on the list are Capts. Colin Day, Gavin Duff, Brent Gaut, David Pollard and Craig Sicola, the Navy said.

Braunschmidt made naval history in 2016 as the first female executive officer, indicating second in command, of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

A 1994 U.S. Naval Academy graduate, she flew helicopters with the Navy's Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light 45, and later deployed to the Arabian Gulf with the USS John Young. She also served as a military adviser to the State Department's Office of Global Women's Issues.

Braunschmidt noted that the U.S. Congress lifted a ban on women serving aboard combat ships in the year of her graduation.

"That law absolutely changed my life," she said in a 2018 interview. "We were the first class that graduated knowing and feeling honored with the privilege to be able to go serve along the rest of our comrades in combat."