The Blue Angels just appointed the first female jet pilot to join the team. The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron has chosen Lieutenant Amanda Lee to be the first woman to serve on the team. She’s one of six new officers joining the Blue Angels for the 2023 air show season.
Since 1946, the Blue Angels aerial demonstration team has been performing impressive displays at air shows, sporting and other events, as well as providing community outreach and serving as a recruiting tool for the Navy. And while hundreds of women have served in various roles with the Blue Angels over the years, it’s the first time in their 76-year history that the team will feature a female pilot.
Lee will be one of six new officers to join the Blue Angels for the 2023 air show season. She is currently on a flight demonstration team, Strike Fighter Squadron 106, known as the Gladiators, stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She’s expected to report to the Blue Angels in the fall and will train through winter, and the Navy says her first event will likely be early next year. Navy and Marine Corps pilots with at least 1,250 tactical jet flight hours and who are aircraft-carrier qualified are eligible for one of these highly competitive and sought-after positions.
Source: NBC News
Photo: Getty Images