Lt. Madeline Swegle: 5 Things To Know About Navy’s First Black Female Tactical Aircraft Pilot

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Lt. Madeline Swegle will soon become the U.S. Navy’s first black female fighter jet pilot and is set to received her gold wings during a ceremony on July 31. Here are five things you should know about her.

Lt. Madeline Swegle is impressing people around the world as the first black female to soon become a U.S. Navy fighter jet pilot. The impressive young woman was congratulated by the Chief of Naval Air Training for “completing the Tactical Air (Strike) aviator syllabus” in a July 9 tweet that also included “BZ”, which means Bravo Zulu, a job well done. “Swegle is the @USNavy’s first known Black female TACAIR pilot and will receive her Wings of Gold later this month. HOOYAH!” the tweet, which also included two smiling pics of Swegle in her pilot’s uniform, read.

Here are five things you should know about Swegle and her amazing journey.

1.) She’s from Virginia. She comes from the city of Burke, according to Stars and Stripes, and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2017.

2.) She’s assigned to the Redhawks of Training Squadron 21. It’s located in Kingsville, TX and she’s gearing up to officially receive her gold wings in a ceremony set to take place on July 31.Graduates of her program tend to go on to fly  F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers or F-35C Joint Strike Fighters, Stars and Stripes reported.

3.) Her incredible achievement comes more than 45 years after the first woman started flying tactical jets in the Navy. Rosemary Mariner achieved the feat in 1974 and she was also the first woman to command an operational air squadron during Operation Desert Storm.

4.) Family and friends showed their support for Swegle’s history-making news on social media. Swegle’s best friend, who goes by the name Miss Alissa on Twitter, shared pics of Swegle in her uniform and added a sweet caption to it. “Just my best friend making history,” it read. Swegle’s sister, Sophie, retweeted the tweet and added her own loving message that read, “Just my older sister being a boss everyday of her life. Proud of her doesn’t even cover it.”

5.) Her father, Carey Manhertz, played basketball for the Navy. He also took to Twitter to share an article with the news and his own personal message about Swegle’s achievement. “It’s official. My daughter, Maddy continues rise,” he wrote.