Amanda Lee (pilot) explained

Honorific Prefix:Lieutenant Commander
Amanda Lee
Nickname:"Stalin"
Birth Place:Mounds View, Minnesota, US
Branch:United States Navy
Serviceyears:2007 - present
Rank:Lieutenant Commander
Unit:Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106
Known For:Blue Angels demonstration pilot
Battles:Operation Inherent Resolve
Awards:Four Navy Achievement Medals
Alma Mater:Old Dominion University

Amanda Lee (born) is a naval aviator in the United States Navy. She was selected in June 2022 as the first female fighter jet pilot in the elite Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron. Lee made her debut as the Left Wing demo pilot in the number three jet on March 11, 2023, in El Centro, California, and is currently the Slot Pilot in the number four jet. She uses the call sign "Stalin".

Early life

Lee is from Mounds View, Minnesota, and in 2004 graduated from Irondale High School in Minnesota. She competed in many sports while in high school: ice hockey, soccer, and swimming. She attended the University of Minnesota Duluth and enlisted in the United States Navy. In 2007 she graduated from Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois. In 2013 she graduated from Old Dominion University with a B.S. in biochemistry.[1] [2]

Career

After enlisting in the U.S. Navy, Lee served as an aviation electronics technician.[2] In 2013, she became a commissioned officer and started training as a naval pilot at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida. In 2016 she became a naval aviator.[2] She was then assigned to the aircraft carrier to support Operation Inherent Resolve.[3] As part of her training she successfully completed 225 carrier-arrested landings and 1,400 flight hours.[4] She has four Navy Achievement Medals and other personal and unit awards.[4]

Blue Angels

In July 2022, Lieutenant Lee was announced as the first woman to join the Blue Angels as a demonstration pilot, and as the second woman in the team,[5] [6] after USMC Captain Katie Higgins Cook who joined in 2015, flying the C-130 Fat Albert transport plane.

In September 2022 she was assigned to the "Gladiators" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106, based at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia.[7] She flies the F/A-18E and the F/A-18F Super Hornet.[8] Her induction and training as a new Blue Angels pilot was captured in the 2024 film The Blue Angels.[9] [10]

Lee's first performance as the Left Wing demo pilot with the Blue Angels took place on March 11, 2023, in El Centro, California.[11] She also performed before an estimated 100,000 people at the MCAS Beaufort Airshow on May 22 and 23, 2023. She was cheered at the show on both days as she climbed into the cockpit of her number three aircraft.[12]

LCDR Lee is currently the Slot Pilot, at the number four jet.[13]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Blue Angels name first woman to join iconic flight squadron as a pilot . May 25, 2023 . Associated Press . CBS News . July 19, 2022.
  2. News: Beachum . Lateshia . Blue Angels name first woman demonstration pilot . May 25, 2023 . The Washington Post . July 18, 2022.
  3. News: Pilot Makes History . May 26, 2023 . Florida Today . July 20, 2022.
  4. Web site: #3 LT Amanda Lee – USN – Left Wing . Blue Angels . U.S. Navy Blue Angels . May 25, 2023.
  5. Web site: Blue Angels name first woman to serve as demonstration pilot . USA Today . July 18, 2022.
  6. Web site: Martinez . Luis . Navy's Blue Angels to get 1st female demonstration team pilot: Lt. Amanda Lee will soon train for the 2023 air show season . abcnews . August 22, 2022 . July 19, 2022.
  7. News: Ibberson . Stuart . March 8, 2023 . Women's History Month – US Navy Blue Angels selects first female demo pilot . Aerotech News . May 25, 2023.
  8. News: Mongilio . Heather . Blue Angels Announces First Female Jet Pilot . May 25, 2023 . U.S. Naval Institute . July 18, 2022.
  9. News: Seitz . Matt Zoller . The Blue Angels movie review & film summary (2024) Roger Ebert . 27 May 2024 . Roger Ebert Reviews . en.
  10. News: Johnson . Benjamin . 17 May 2024 . Generations of pilots watch Blue Angels documentary premiere in Pensacola . 27 May 2024 . Pensacola News Journal.
  11. News: De Herrera . Alan . Historic season begins! Blue Angels pilot Amanda Lee takes to the sky. . May 25, 2023 . USA Today . Pensacola News Journal . March 30, 2023.
  12. News: Earley . Delayna . Sofaly . Bob . Back in Blue . May 26, 2023 . The Island News . April 26, 2023.
  13. Web site: http://www.blueangels.navy.mil/assets/docs/bio/04-Lee.pdf.