Navy Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle has become the Navy\u2019s \u201cfirst known\u201d Black female tactical jet pilot, according to the service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Navy said Swegle completed the undergraduate Tactical Air (Strike) pilot training syllabus Tuesday, paving the way for her to fly aircraft like the F\/A-18E\/F Super Hornet, the F-35C Joint Strike Fighter or the EA-18G Growler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBZ to Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle on completing the Tactical Air (Strike) aviator syllabus,\u201d Naval Air Training tweeted Thursday. \u201cSwegle is the @USNavy\u2019s first known Black female TACAIR pilot and will receive her Wings of Gold later this month. HOOYAH!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rear Adm. Paula Dunn, the Navy\u2019s vice chief of information, also offered praise for Swegle on Twitter and encouraged her to \u201cgo forth and kick butt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Swegle, a 2017 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, is currently assigned to the Redhawks of Training Squadron (VT) 21 at Naval Air Station Kingsville in Texas. The Navy said she will earn her wings at a ceremony July 31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s unclear what\u2019s next for Swegle, and the Navy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Navy Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lt. Cmdr. Brenda Robinson, whose call sign was \u201cRaven,\u201d made history in 1980 as the first Black female graduate from Aviation Officer Candidate School and a year later became the first Black woman certified for C-1A carrier onboard delivery carrier landings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Robinson continued to be a trailblazer during her Navy career when she also became the first Black female flight instructor, evaluator, and VIP transport pilot in the Navy, according to Women in Aviation International<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, Capt. Vernice \u201cFlyGirl\u201d Armour became the first Black female pilot in the Marine Corps and the first Black female combat pilot in the entire U.S. military. She earned her wings in 2001 and was subsequently stationed at Camp Pendleton in California with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, according to a Marine Corps news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Naval aviation is overwhelmingly composed of white males. According to a 2018 investigation from Military.com<\/a>, there were only 26 Black pilots out of the 1,404 who flew the F-A\/18. Additionally, the investigation found that less than 2 percent of all pilots assigned to jet platforms<\/a> were Black.<\/p>\n\n\n\n