Celebrating the Life of Trailblazer Captain Rosemary Mariner

U.S. Navy Captain Rosemary Mariner was a true trailblazer for women in the military. 

★She was the first female tactical fighter jet pilot in the US Navy.

★In 1990 Rosemary became the first woman to command an aviation squadron in the Navy and was selected for major aviation shore command. 

★She was the first woman pilot to land a jet on an aircraft carrier, subsequently she was a veteran of seventeen carrier deployments with over 3,500 military flight hours in fifteen different Navy aircraft.

★She and two other women were the first women aviators selected for promotion to Captain in the U.S. Navy in 1993.

★Captain Mariner worked with Congress and an advisory board in the Defense Department to lift the restrictions on female pilots flying combat missions. The results of this ruling truly opened doors to opportunities for women aviators and removed regulations that did not allow women in combat.
Information for this blog post is from an article in  Wikipedia

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Our condolences to her family and our thanks for her service to our country.

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Please Note: For the first time in history, at Rosemary's funeral on February 2, 2019, the United States Navy conducted a flyover by a team of female pilots. The Navy explained, "The Missing Man Flyover is a special tribute honoring the service of aviators who have died serving their country. The maneuver features four aircraft flying above the funeral service in formation as one of the aircraft leaves the formation and climbs vertically into the heavens.”

Click on the links below for more blog posts on the Girls Succeed! Blog on Women in the Military

First Female US Army Infantry Officer--Captain Kristen Griest

Jet fighter Colonel (retired)pilot Martha McSally

Women Air Force Service Pilots W.A.S.P.

First Woman into Space--Sally Ride

Astronaut Peggy Whitson Sets U. S. Record for Most Days in Space!

Trailblazer: Martha McSally, Jet Fighter Pilot

The brave women of the World War II Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) broke ground for today's women who joined the military and fly the skies for the USA. To learn more about these pioneer pilots in service to our country, click here for more information about the WASP team.

The reproduction of the Congressional Gold Medal awarded to the WASP decorates the side of the float. The 38 stars around the medal salute the 38 WASP who lost their lives in service to their country.

Martha McSally, Colonel (retired) in the United States Air Force (USAF), flew the A-10 Warthog attack plane in the skies over Iraq and Afghanistan in the mid-1990s.  She was the first American woman to fly in combat since the 1991 lifting of the prohibition of women in combat.  Col. McSally is also the first woman to command a USAF fighter squadron. 

Col. McSally with an A-10 Thunderbolt II jet

Today Martha McSally is a candidate for representative for the state of Arizona in the U.S. congress. 

Have you considered a career in flying planes? Would you want to join the military in order to fly a fighter jet?  Please leave your comment below. I love to hear from you.