A 20-year veteran of the Canadian navy became the first woman to take command of a major warship on Tuesday when she took HMCS Halifax out on the water during an early morning news conference.

Cmdr. Josee Kurtz, who joined the Canadian Forces in 1988, is the eleventh commander of the frigate.

The Navy appointed another woman, Lieut. Cmdr. Marta Mulkins, to command a coastal patrol vessel in 2003. But Kurtz is the first woman to command a major warship and joins an extremely elite group -- Canada has only 12 frigates and three destroyers.

"This is probably one of the best days of my life," Kurtz told reporters earlier at HMC Dockyard in Halifax before she took the vessel into the harbour.

Kurtz began her career as a navigator, and became a navigation instructor in the mid-1990s. She is also trained as a weapons and combat officer.

Kurtz joined the navy at a time when it was first opening its doors to women. A discrimination complaint had spurred The Human Rights Commission to order the Canadian Forces to open up all occupations to females.

Kurtz said she had to prove herself time and again as she moved up the navy's ranks.

"You are tested and you are scrutinized," she said.

"There was some reluctance when we first joined . . . but when they realize you can do the job just as well, that scrutiny goes away."

Kurtz most recently served as the executive officer aboard HMCS Ville de Quebec from 2007 to 2009.

During that time, the frigate was deployed with the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1, and took part in an anti-piracy mission to escort a shipment of United Nations food aid to Somalia.

On Tuesday, Kurtz told reporters that her crew does not seem bothered by her gender and said women have become more accepted into navy culture since she joined the service.

"Twenty years ago, having a woman commanding officer was not on the radar screen of any leadership," she said.

"I think it's a tremendous achievement that here we are, 20 years later, and somebody has been able to demonstrate that a woman can do the job equally as well as her male counterparts."

Leading Seaman Sean Vaillancourt said that while he was excited to be a part of history, his commander's gender was of little consequence to him.

"Obviously she's done her time to prove she's competent, so this is going to be just like any other day," he said.

More than 200 sailors, including 15 women, make up the crew of the Halifax.

The frigate is set to begin technical training exercises before it undergoes a major refit in 2010.

Kurtz's husband, John, was a naval officer with 20 years of service. He retired to care full time for the couple's daughter, Dominique.

With files from CTV Atlantic and The Canadian Press