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The 51-year-old is in a select group of United States Navy officers: The commanders of the 11 aircraft carriers in the US fleet.
Capt. Bauernschmidt is the only woman in that group. In fact, she’s the only woman ever to command a US aircraft carrier, the largest and among the most powerful warships afloat.
“(It’s) easily one of the most incredible jobs in the world,” she told CNN.
Most people would consider that an understatement.
Bauernschmidt commands the USS Abraham Lincoln, a 97,000-ton, 1,092-foot Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. With around 5,000 people aboard, it’s the equivalent of a small city at sea.
It’s also one of the centerpieces of US military might. More than 60 aircraft are aboard the Lincoln, including F-35C stealth fighters, the most advanced warplanes in naval aviation.
US aircraft carriers “are ready to control the sea, conduct strikes, and maneuver across the electromagnetic spectrum and cyberspace. No other naval force fields a commensurate range and depth of combat capabilities,” a US Navy fact sheet says.
“In times of crisis, the first question leaders ask is: ‘Where are the carriers?’” the fact sheet says.
Bauernschmidt says answering that call is a privilege.
“There’s absolutely no more humbling sense of responsibility than to know that I was selected to lead the men and women that have chosen (to) defend our nation,” she told reporters on a recent visit to the warship during maneuvers off Japan.
Growing up in Milwaukee, Bauernschmidt knew she had an affinity for the sea. “I have always loved the water, and swam and rowed competitively,” she says. But joining the Navy was more practicality than ambition.
Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt, commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, speaks with media before the ship gets underway for a deployment in San Diego, California, on January 3, 2022.
“I came upon my service in a roundabout way.” she says. “I knew I would be paying for my college education and I wanted to find a major I was not only interested in pursuing but would allow me to find a job to repay student loans.”
With a strong interest in math and science, and that love of the water, she settled on a major in ocean engineering.
Only a handful of colleges offered it, the US Naval Academy in Maryland being one. With tuition paid, it was the choice for Bauernschmidt.
