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US Navy's 1st Black female Tactical Aircraft pilot earns 'Wings of Gold'

Published  July 31, 2020 12:11pm EDT
Associated Press

Meet the US Navy’s first Black female tactical aircraft pilot

Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle is the US Navy's first Black female tactical aircraft pilot, who receives her flight officer insignia in a ceremony Friday.

KINGSVILLE, Texas - The U.S. Navy has welcomed its first Black female Tactical Aircraft pilot.

“MAKING HISTORY!” the U.S. Navy tweeted earlier this month in response to a post that Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle had completed naval flight school and would receive the flight officer insignia known as the “Wings of Gold" in a ceremony on Friday.

The Naval Air Training Command tweeted that Swegle is the Navy's “first known Black female TACAIR pilot.”

According to Stars and Stripes, Swegle is from Burke, Virginia, and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2017.

Officials said she is assigned to the Redhawks of Training Squadron 21 in Kingsville, Texas.

Swegle's milestone comes more than 45 years after Rosemary Mariner in 1974 became the first woman to fly a tactical fighter jet, according to news outlets.
 

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