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Black Female Fighter Pilot Joins Navy Ranks


Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle is the first known Black female tactical aircraft pilot. (U.S. Navy)
Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle is the first known Black female tactical aircraft pilot. (U.S. Navy)

The U.S. Navy says it has its first Black female fighter pilot.

The Naval Air Training Command tweeted that Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle is the Navy's “first known Black female [tactical aircraft] pilot.”

The 2017 Naval Academy graduate recently completed her Tactical Aircraft training and will receive her “Wings of Gold” insignia later this month.

Military.com says that a 2018 investigation it conducted with Navy-provided data revealed that only 1.9 percent of the service’s pilots assigned to fighter jets were Black.

Swegle is assigned to the Redhawks of Training Squadron 21 in Kingsville, Texas.

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