NORFOLK, Va. — Lieutenant Amanda Lee is the first female demonstration pilot for the Blue Angels, according to a tweet from the Chief of Naval Operations.
#ICYMI: Lt. Amanda Lee, the @BlueAngels first woman demonstration pilot, flew in her first public show during the NAF El Centro Annual Air Show yesterday. Congratulations shipmate. #WIN #WomensHistoryMonth #WomenintheNavy pic.twitter.com/pw5ETEIrRT
— USNavyCNO (@USNavyCNO) March 12, 2023
Lee, a native of Mounds View, Minnesota, flew in her first public show over the weekend at the NAF El Centro Annual Air Show.
Lee also has ties to Hampton Roads.
After graduating from Irondale High School in 2004, she attended the University of Minnesota Duluth where she enlisted in the U.S. Navy as an Aviation Electronics Technician (AT) and reported to her first command, VFA-136 “Knighthawks," according to her bio on the Blue Angels' website. She was selected to commission as a Pilot through the Seaman-to-Admiral (STA-21) commissioning program in 2009.
The next year, she began officer training at the Naval Science Institute in Newport, Rhode Island. At the same time, she began studying biochemistry at Old Dominion University in Norfolk.
Lee earned her commission in the U.S. Navy in August 2013.
In Sept. 2022, Lee joined the Blue Angels.
"She has accumulated more than 1,400 flight hours and over 225 carrier-arrested landings," according to her bio. "Her decorations include four Navy Achievement medals and various personal and unit awards."
