First Woman Gains Coveted Spot on Elite Navy Flying Team

Amy Redditt Tomlinson knew she wanted to be in the military as soon as she enrolled in college and joined USC's ROTC. Though perhaps the desire went back further than that. Following in the fine footsteps of her father, who was a fighter pilot in Vietnam, she wanted to be an aviator even as a child running around in his flight gear. Now, she's one of eight numbered members of an elite Navy flying team, the first woman in this position.

Amy chose her warfare specialty — aviation — in her senior year of ROTC, but imperfect eyesight kept her in the backseat. She likes to tell people that she is like "Goose" to "Maverick" from Top Gun. She would become a navigator, a Naval Flight Officer, and a "wizzo," or a Weapons Specialist Officer (WSO).

As a Naval Flight Officer, Amy completed her flight school training in Pensicola, Florida, and then was assigned to fly F-14 Tomcats in Virginia Beach, VA. It was during this time that she fell nose over tail in love with the Navy's most elite flying team, the Blue Angels. She would later be assigned to F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, an aircraft on which she logged many of the 1,250 hours required for applying to the Blue Angels.

Lt. Cmdr. Amy Redditt Tomlinson has flown many aircraft in addition to her varied duties in different officer positions. Over two tours aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, she logged some 135 hours on 33 mission flights. Her awards include Strike Flight Air Medals, Navy And Marine Corps Commendation Medal (NAM) with a Combat — yes that's Combat — V, and a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, among others. Not too shabby for someone who was never supposed to fly or ever see combat.

Tomlinson started out as a girl who wanted to launch a surf team for girls in her high school when she learned there wasn't one. Now, she not only has her gold wings, but she wears one of the eight coveted numbers assigned by arguably the greatest military flying team in the world on her uniform. Talk about a dream come true.

Amy has simple advice for anyone who wants to succeed in the military: “You don’t have to be the smartest and brightest. You just have to be willing to work hard and have a dream.” She is a tremendous mentor for every young woman in today's military, and who will be a part of tomorrow's.

Thanks to Phenix for the link.

Photo Credit: Peter Kaminski