Naval Air Station Kingsville

KINGSVILLE (News Release) - Naval Air Station Kingsville ended Women’s History Month by recognizing Lt. Amanda Lee, who this year became the first female demonstration pilot with the Navy’s Blue Angels, flying Left Wing in #3 – and who has an NAS Kingsville connection.

Lee, a native of Mounds View, Minnesota, initially enlisted in the Navy as an aviation electronics technician. She was selected to commission as a pilot through the Seaman-to-Admiral commissioning program in 2009.

In 2010, she attended the Naval Science Institute for officer training while simultaneously working to receive a bachelor of science in biochemistry at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

She was commissioned in August 2013 and reported to pilot training, completing primary flight training at NAS Whiting Field in November 2014 then reporting to the VT-22 ‘Golden Eagles’ at NAS Kingsville for training in the T-45C Goshawk.

She received her ‘wings of gold’ as a Naval Aviator in April 2016.

After qualifying in the F/A-18 Super Hornet, she completed combat deployments and various additional duties, leading to her assignment to VFA-106 as an F/A-18 E/F instructor pilot – and serving as lead for the squadron’s Rhino Demonstration Team.

Lee joined the Blue Angels in September 2022 and flew in her first public demonstration show at NAF El Centro earlier this month.