2023 will mark a new first for the Blue Angels with the selection of U.S. Navy Lieutenant Amanda "Stalin" Lee as one of the six Demonstration pilots who form the most visible part of the flight demonstration squadron.
Among those team members selected this year is the squadron's first woman F/A-18E/F demonstration pilot. For over 55 years, hundreds of women have served with the Blue Angels representing the very best of the Navy and Marine Corps. Come the start of the 2023 show season, these six selectees will join the ranks of the U.S. Navy's most elite aviation officers, ground support officers, and enlisted maintenance personnel already serving on the team.
Voting unanimity, and a staggering 1,250 minimum recorded tactical jet hours, are just two of the selection criteria successfully navigated by Lieutenant Lee to become the first woman selected for the Blue Angles demonstration team. 2023 will mark the first woman Blue Angels demonstration pilot, but the first woman Blue Angels pilot honor belongs to U.S. Marine Corps Major Katie Higgins Cook, who piloted the C-130 Fat Albert transport plane from 2014 thru 2016.
