or the first time in its 76-year history, the Navy’s famed Blue Angels aerial demonstration team will feature a female pilot flying one of the jets.
The Navy on Monday named Lt. Amanda Lee as one of the Blue Angels’ newest core members.
Since 1946, the Blue Angels have performed dazzling aerial displays at air shows, sporting events and other flight demonstrations, providing community outreach and an important recruiting tool for the U.S. Navy.
Lee, of Mounds View, Minn., currently serves on a flight demonstration team, Strike Fighter Squadron 106, known as the Gladiators. The squadron is stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana located in Virginia Beach, Va.
She’s expected to report to the Blue Angels in the fall and will train with the squadron through the winter. Her first event will likely be early next year, the officials said.
In 2019, Lee participated in the first ever all-female flyover as part of the funeral service for retired Navy Captain, Rosemary Mariner, who was one of the Navy’s first female pilots and the first woman to command a naval aviation squadron.
“When I come into the ready room right now, I’m a pilot first, a person second, and my gender really isn’t an issue,” Lee said in an interview released by the Navy at the time. “It’s people like Capt. Mariner that have paved that way for us, so it’s really a huge honor. I’m super humbled to be a part of this flyover in her honor.”
There are currently 17 officers serving with the Blue Angels, according to their website. Each officer is typically on the team for two years. The current team already includes three women who serve in the roles of public affairs officer, flight surgeon, and events coordinator.
But today’s announcement marks the first time a female pilot will be part of the demonstration team.
Navy and Marine Corps pilots who have a minimum of 1,250 tactical jet flight hours and who are aircraft carrier qualified are eligible for one of the extremely competitive and highly sought-after positions. The team currently flies F/A-18 Super Hornet jets.