(This article by MOAA staff originally appeared in the March 2024 issue of Military Officer, a magazine available to all MOAA Premium and Life members. Learn more about the magazine here; learn more about joining MOAA here.)

The same year a woman became chief of naval operations, the Navy marked 50 years of women serving as naval aviators.

Careers in naval aviation opened to women in 1973 with the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, which allowed women to serve in combat-related jobs. That year, women began flight training as naval aviators in Pensacola, Fla. Their Navy service led the way for generations of women to serve in all aspects of global missions, strategic planning, and leadership in the Navy.

The “first six” to earn their wings were Lt. Cmdr. Barbara Allen Rainey, Capt. Judith Neuffer Bruner, Capt. Jane Skiles O’Dea, Capt. Rosemary Bryant Mariner, Capt. Joellen Drag Oslund, and Capt. Ana Maria Scott Fuqua.

[TIMELINE: 50 Years of Women in Naval Aviation]

Here are a few aviators whose accomplishments the Navy has highlighted:

Capt. Rosemary Mariner

Navy photo

Mariner became the first woman to command an operational naval aviation squadron, Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 34, in 1991.

Capt. Wendy Lawrence

Navy photo via National Archives

Lawrence graduated in 1981 from the U.S. Naval Academy and flew more than 1,500 hours in helicopters with more than 800 landings on ships. After joining NASA in 1992, she was the first woman academy graduate to go into space. In 1995, she launched as a mission specialist. In four space flights, she logged more than 1,200 hours in space.

Capt. Kathryn P. Hire

Space Frontiers/Getty Images

Hire, a 1981 academy graduate, was the first woman assigned to a combat aircrew, Patrol Squadron 62, in 1993. She served during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom on the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command staff. She flew more than 3,400 hours in several types of aircraft. She joined NASA in 1994 and flew on two space shuttle missions, logging 711 hours in space.

Lt. Matice Wright-Springer

Navy photo

Wright-Springer was a 1988 academy graduate and in 1993 became the first Black woman to qualify as a naval flight officer. She logged thousands of hours aboard the EC-130 and the E-6 aircraft. She recently served on the U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors.

Cmdr. Becky Calder

Navy photo

A 1998 academy grad, Calder flew the F/A-18 Hornet. She was the first woman pilot to graduate from the Navy’s Top Gun school, officially the Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor Course. As a pilot, she supported Operation Southern Watch, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Lt. Cmdr. Amanda Lee

Navy photo

Lee is an F/A-18 demonstration pilot for the Navy’s Blue Angels. In 2022, she became the first woman to be chosen for that role.