Congratulations to Commander Billie J. Farrell who will be the 77th commanding officer and the first woman in the 224-year ship’s history to command the USS Constitution. She will assume command of the ship, known as Old Ironsides, during a change-of-command ceremony on Friday, January 21.

USS 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.

“I feel honored to have been chosen as the first female [commanding officer] and blessed to be in this role,” said Farrell. “I just really want to show that if somebody wants to do something within the Navy or elsewhere that there [are] always opportunities, and you just have to find them and work hard and set your sights on something and continue to push forward.”

Cmdr. Farrell previously served as the executive officer aboard the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Vicksburg. She is a native of Paducah, Kentucky, and a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the University of Arkansas.

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.