June 5, 2012
UT Aerospace alumna Col. Jeannie Leavitt (BS ASE ’90) has made history by becoming the first woman to take command of an Air Force combat fighter wing in North Carolina. Read the Fox News story.
After Col. Leavitt graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 1990, she joined the United States Air Force. At the time, women were not allowed to serve during flying combat missions or aboard most Navy warships. On April 28, 1993, Defense Secretary Les Aspin ordered service chiefs to drop these restrictions.
Following the repeal, the U.S. Air Force named the first seven women to fly combat aircraft in the USAF. Col. Jeannie Flynn-Leavitt was among these women and later became the first woman to actually enter fighter lead-in training. Now, she has made history once again by becoming the first female wing commander.
