VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A group of female Navy pilots is preparing to make history. This weekend they will fly in the first all-female formation!
They'll be flying in a Missing Man formation in Maynardville, Tennessee on Saturday as part of the funeral service for retired Navy Captain Rosemary Mariner.
Mariner, who passed away after battling cancer, was the Navy's first female jet pilot, flying the A-4E/L Skyhawk and the A-7E Corsair II. She was also the first female pilot in any military branch to command an operational air squadron.
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.
All of the aviators participating in the flyover are from squadrons based at Naval Air Station Oceana and will be flying F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.
The participants are:
- Cmdr. Stacy Uttecht, Commanding Officer, Strike Fighter Squadron Thirty-Two (VFA-32)
- Cmdr. Leslie Mintz, Executive Officer, VFA-213
- Lt. Cmdr. Paige Blok, VFA-32
- Lt. Cmdr. Danielle Thiriot, VFA-106
- Lt. Cmdr. Jennifer Hesling, NAS Oceana
- Lt. Christy Talisse, VFA-211
- Lt. Amanda Lee, VFA-81
- Lt. Kelly Harris, VFA-213
- Lt. Emily Rixey, Strike Fighter Weapons School Atlantic