--- description: A U.S. Naval officer made history last week as the military branch's first known Black female tactical jet pilot. title: Officer Becomes U.S. Navy's First Black Female Tactical Jet Pilot image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f85b9ecc7916eb2/698a103c16d884321fc38636/Lt.-j.g.-Madeline-Swegle-2.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Military](/tag/military/) ## Military Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Officer Becomes U.S. Navy's First Black Female Tactical Jet Pilot  by [Tara Law](/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 12, 2020 4:38 PM CUT  Student Naval Aviator Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle, assigned to the Redhawks of Training Squadron (VT) 21 stands by a T-45C Goshawk training aircraft following her final flight to complete the undergraduate Tactical Air (Strike) pilot training syllabus, at Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas, on July 7, 2020. Student Naval Aviator Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle, assigned to the Redhawks of Training Squadron (VT) 21 stands by a T-45C Goshawk training aircraft following her final flight to complete the undergraduate Tactical Air (Strike) pilot training syllabus, at Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas, on July 7, 2020.U.S. Navy photo by Lt.j.g. Luke Redito/Released  by [Tara Law](/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 12, 2020 4:38 PM CUT A U.S. Naval officer made history last week as the military branch’s first known Black female tactical jet pilot. Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle made a final flight on a T-45C Goshawk training aircraft to complete her undergraduate Tactical Air (Strike) pilot training syllabus on Tuesday, the Navy said. Swegle, who is assigned to the Redhawks of Training Squadron (VT) 21 at Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas, is set to receive her Wings of Gold in a ceremony on July 31. “Swegle is the [@USNavy](https://twitter.com/USNavy "undefined")’s first known Black female TACAIR pilot and will receive her Wings of Gold later this month. HOOYAH!” the Chief of Naval Air Training wrote [on Twitter](https://twitter.com/CNATRA/status/1281323669873197057?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1281323669873197057%7Ctwgr%5E&ref%5Furl=https%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2FUS%2Fmadeline-swegle-makes-history-us-navys-1st-black%2Fstory%3Fid%3D71732328 "undefined"), wishing her “BZ,” short for “Bravo Zulu,” the naval signal meaning “well done.”  Student Naval Aviator Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle, assigned to the Redhawks of Training Squadron (VT) 21 at Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas, exits a T-45C Goshawk training aircraft following her final flight to complete the undergraduate Tactical Air (Strike) pilot training syllabus, July 7\. Swegle is the U.S. Navy's first known Black female strike aviator and will receive her Wings of Gold during a ceremony July 31. U.S. Navy photo by Anne Owens/Released Public figures from [Sen. Elizabeth Warren](https://twitter.com/SenWarren/status/1281958994106515456?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1281958994106515456%7Ctwgr%5E&ref%5Furl=https%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2FUS%2Fmadeline-swegle-makes-history-us-navys-1st-black%2Fstory%3Fid%3D71732328 "undefined") to tennis great [Billie Jean King](https://twitter.com/BillieJeanKing/status/1281948239080628227 "undefined") congratulated Swegle on social media after the announcement. RDML Paula Dunn, the U.S. Navy’s vice chief of information, celebrated Swegle’s accomplishment [on Twitter.](https://twitter.com/ViceCHINFO/status/1281343686123683849?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1281343686123683849%7Ctwgr%5E&ref%5Furl=https%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2FUS%2Fmadeline-swegle-makes-history-us-navys-1st-black%2Fstory%3Fid%3D71732328 "undefined") “Very proud of LTJG Swegle. Go forth and kick butt,” she wrote. > [](https://twitter.com/ViceCHINFO/status/1281343686123683849) Swegle follows in the footsteps of trailblazers like Brenda Robinson, who is thought to be the [first Black female aviator](https://www.stripes.com/news/veterans/tuskegee-airmen-exhibit-to-open-1.239967 "undefined") in the Navy. Women have served on U.S. combatant ships [since 1994.](https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/browse-by-topic/diversity/women-in-the-navy/women-in-combat.html "undefined") However, the Navy has faced [criticism](https://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/10/10/history-making-air-force-general-isnt-about-firsts.html "undefined") for the lack of diversity amongst its pilots. As of 2018, only about 2.7% of pilots in Navy maritime squadrons were Black, according to analysis by[ Military.com](https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/04/04/naval-aviators-say-they-were-kicked-out-training-due-racial-bias.html "undefined"); less than 7% of all Navy pilots were female, according to [Pensacola News Journal](https://www.pnj.com/story/news/military/2018/05/05/women-remain-small-percentage-commercial-and-military-aviation/545662002/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5865985/madeline-swegle-first-black-female-fighter-pilot/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5865985/madeline-swegle-first-black-female-fighter-pilot/"},"headline":"Officer Becomes U.S. Navy's First Black Female Tactical Jet Pilot","datePublished":"2020-07-12T16:38:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:55:52.899Z","description":"Lt. j.g. 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