The US Navy’s famed Blue Angels aerial demonstration team on Monday named Amanda Lee as the first female pilot in the squadron’s history. Here’s the full story.
Amanda Lee named as a Blue Angels jet pilot
On Monday, the US Navy’s Blue Angels named Lieutenant Amanda Lee as their first ever female jet pilot. Lieutenant Lee is one of the six new core members selected for the team.
Women from Marine Corps and the Navy have severed with the Blue Angels for 55 years. However, never as a pilot.
Created in 1946, the blue Angels’ objective was to generate public support and boost Navy morale by performing aerial moves at air shows, sporting events, and other flight demonstrations.
Lieutenant Lee, from Mounds View, Minnesota, is currently assigned to the Strike Fighter Squadron 106 demonstration team, known as the Gladiators, stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She and the other new members will report to the Blue Angels in September.
After the current season concludes in the winter, the members will undergo five months of training in a California facility before starting the 2023 show season.
More about the flight demonstration team
Currently, 17 officers are serving on the Blue Angels, They typically serve for two years with the team.
“The mission of the Blue Angels is to showcase the teamwork and professionalism of the United States Navy and Marine Corps through flight demonstrations and community outreach while inspiring a culture of excellence and service to the country,” stated the US Navy.
The Blue Angels selected two F/A-18E/F Super Hornet pilots, an events coordinator, a C-130J Super Hercules pilot, an aviation maintenance officer, and a flight surgeon to replace team members who are leaving. Lt. Lee was assigned to the “Gladiators” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106.