President Joe Biden on Wednesday said it was “about time” and a “big deal” that one of the US armed services had a woman in charge as he attended a change-of-command ceremony to mark the start of Admiral Linda Fagan’s watch as Commandant of the US Coast Guard.

       Adm Fagan was confirmed as the 27th commandant to lead the service — which traces its’ history to the Revenue Cutter Service founded by Alexander Hamilton — on 11 May, just one month after Mr Biden officially nominated her to the post.

       On Wednesday, she officially assumed her place as the coast guard’s highest-ranking officer with Mr Biden in attendance.

       “The secretary of defence, when he sent me the name I said: 'What in the hell took you so long?’” Mr Biden said before offering Adm Fagan his congratulations.

       The president also praised Adm Fagan for her “decades of service” beginning with her commissioning as an ensign in 1985, and said the veteran officer “has demonstrated an exceptional skill, integrity, and commitment to our country” and “upholds the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard”.

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       “There’s no one more qualified to lead the proud women and men of the Coast Guard, and she will also be the first woman to serve as Commandant of the Coast Guard -- the first woman to lead any branch of the United States Armed Forces,” he said. “With her trailblazing career, Admiral Fagan shows that young people -- young people entering service that we mean it when we say there are no doors -- no doors closed to women”.