Groton ― Commanding Officer Billie Farrell stood on stage in the Naval Submarine School’s auditorium Wednesday wearing a captain’s uniform once only worn by men in the early 1800s.

She is the first woman to hold the title of commanding officer for the USS Constitution in the ship’s 225 years of service. Also known as Old Ironsides, the Boston-based frigate was crucial in winning three major naval battles during the War of 1812.

Farrell was invited to speak here by the base’s Women Leadership Program in honor of International Women’s Day and women’s history month. Farrell spoke about her career, the frigate’s history and leadership.

Chief Jessica Barnes, an instructor at the school, said having Farrell speak was unique and neat as it gave the submarine officers a different perspective of a woman achieving in a different part of the Navy and on the surface.

Barnes said Farrell shows that there is so much more to achieve and anything is possible.

Lauren McLaughlin, the base’s public affair officer, said women are still making history everyday within the Navy, especially at the male-dominate submarine base. Barnes was the first enlisted woman on submarines and the first female scuba diver.

Farrell, a Kentucky native, recalled being in the sixth grade when her journey to the Navy began. Farrell said she was at home channel surfing when she came across a graduation ceremony from the U.S. Naval Academy that was being televised.

“That is where I want to go,” she told her parents.

Farrell went on to graduate from the academy in 2004, earn her masters from the University of Arkansas in 2009 and served as an officer in different capacities on multiple cruisers.

She said she applied to the job as commanding officer of the USS Constitution because she felt passionate about it. She still has a photo she took in front of it back in 1998.

Farrell figured out she would be the first woman to do hold the position after she took over early in 2022.

“It’s super special to continue the legacy of a ship that is still here to start with,” Farrell said.

Farrell said the Navy has made attempts to get rid of the frigate, once in the 1830s and another time in the 1920s, but every time the American people have vouched for it. The ship has toured the world and the nation but ultimately returned to its birthplace in Boston, where it remains.

Whereas it was once manned by more than 450 sailors, the ship is now manned by 80 active duty sailors. Farrell said the ship has 3,000 to 4,000 visitors a day during the summer.

Farrell said her time on the USS Constitution will end in June of 2024 and she will move on to become a battalion officer at the Naval Academy. She said her goal as commanding officer is to reach a younger audience about the USS Constitution so that its history does not get lost.