{"id":40835,"date":"2023-03-26T18:48:31","date_gmt":"2023-03-26T18:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/03\/26\/female-navy-pilot-makes-historic-debut-with-the-blue-angels\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:12:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:12:45","slug":"female-navy-pilot-makes-historic-debut-with-the-blue-angels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/2023\/03\/26\/female-navy-pilot-makes-historic-debut-with-the-blue-angels\/","title":{"rendered":"Female Navy pilot makes historic debut with the Blue Angels"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
EL CENTRO, California \u2013\u2013 Warm desert winds blew calmly out of the west as Lt. Amanda Lee climbed into the cockpit of her blue and gold F\/A-18E\/F Super Hornet for her historic first public flight as as member of the Navy\u2019s Blue Angels. It was a perfect day to fly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lee and Lt. Cmdr. Thomas Zimmerman were selected for the renowned flight demonstration team in September 2022, making her the first woman to earn a coveted spot on the team. Both pilots completed an intensive five-month training program under the command of the Blue Angels\u2019 new flight leader Cmdr. Alexander Armatas, who joined the team in August 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe had an overwhelming number of applicants from all over the globe,\u201d said Capt. Brian Kesselring, the former commanding officer and flight leader of the Blue Angels. \u201cWe look forward to passing on the torch and watching the incredible things this team will accomplish in 2023.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nLt. Amanda Lee and Blue Angels teammates \u2014 from left, Lt. Scott Goossens, Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Kapuschansky and flight leader Cmdr. Alexander P. Armatas \u2014 greet spectators after completing their last practice session March 10 before The Blues\u2019 first show of the 2023 season the following day at Naval Air Facility El Centro, Calif. (Alan de Herrera\/Special to Navy Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
With a deafening roar of the Super Hornets\u2019 engines, Lt. Lee and her teammates soared through the Southern California sky in tight formation March 11, captivating spectators here with breathtaking aerobatic maneuvers like the Double Farvel, with two aircraft inverted, and the Diamond Roll. They then performed the jaw-dropping Diamond 360, where the Blues\u2019 aircraft fly as close as 18 inches from wingtip to canopy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lee is one of six Navy personnel to join the ranks of the Blue Angels for the 2023 season. In her new role as the Left Wing No. 3 demo pilot, she will further the legacy of female aviators proudly serving in the Navy around the world. For over 55 years, hundreds of women have served with the Blues in a variety of capacities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Mounds View, Minnesota, native, who goes by the call sign \u201cStalin,\u201d was assigned to the \u201cGladiators\u201d of Strike Fighter Squadron 106, out of Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia, at the time of her selection for the flight demonstration team.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNo. 3 Blue Angels pilot Lt. Amanda Lee flies solo in her F\/A-18E\/F during a practice session March 10 at Naval Air Facility El Centro, Calif. (Alan de Herrera\/Special to Navy Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
While attending the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2007, Lee enlisted in the Navy as an aviation electronics technician and later reported to her first command, the VFA-136 \u201cKnighthawks\u201d at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two years later, she was selected to commission as a pilot through the Seaman-to-Admiral program. In 2010, she attended the Naval Science Institute for officer training in Newport, Rhode Island, and simultaneously began her studies at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, where she received a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She earned her commission in August 2013, and reported to NAS Pensacola, Florida, to begin training as a naval pilot. Lee was designated naval aviator in April 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lee went on to serve two combat deployments aboard the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, Operation Freedom Sentinel and NATO Exercise Trident Juncture. In that time, she accumulated more than 1,400 flight hours and completed more than 225 carrier-arrested landings.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNavy Lt. Amanda Lee flies her F\/A-18E\/F Super Hornet in tight formation in the No. 3 left wing position alongside her Blue Angels teammates during the NAF El Centro Air Show. (Alan de Herrera\/Special to Navy Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Her decorations include four Navy Achievement Medals and various personal and unit awards. In 2019 Lee also participated in the first ever all-female flyover honoring retired Navy Capt. Rosemary Mariner, the first woman to fly a tactical fighter jet in the U.S. Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although Lee is the first fighter jet pilot to fly with The Blues squadron, she is actually the second female pilot to fly for the team. Marine Maj. Katie Higgins broke that barrier in 2014 flying the team\u2019s C-130 \u201cFat Albert\u201d for two seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Blue Angels, founded in 1946, perform multiple air shows across the United States each year. The team’s mission is to showcase the teamwork and professionalism of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps through flight demonstrations and community outreach.\n (Alan de Herrera\/Special to Navy Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Lee\u2019s groundbreaking flight kicked off the start of the team\u2019s 2023 season, with the theme of the show commemorating \u201c50 Years of Women Flying in the Navy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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