UNDATED (CBS NEWSPATH/WKRC) - For the first time ever, a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was commanded by a woman – Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt.

She took command last August and now is bound for the Western Pacific at a time of rising tensions with China. It's a breakthrough for women in the military, a moment Bauernschmidt has been preparing for since she graduated from the Naval Academy in 1994, the year Congress repealed the law barring women from combat.