Super Bowl LVII’s matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs will kick off with the usual fanfare, including the traditional flyover of military jets.
This year’s flyover, however, won’t be completely traditional — for the first time ever, the flyover team will be piloted by an all-women team. This year marks 50 years of women flying in the U.S. Navy, so the four-woman team was selected to honor the occasion.
This Super Bowl Sunday, a group of women will make history. https://t.co/uxUkwcgLg3
— ABC News (@ABC) February 12, 2023
Snark about DEI and the definition of a “woman” aside, I actually do consider this a rather cool tribute.
The all-female team includes Navy Lt. Catie Perkowski and Navy Lt. Suzelle Thomas.
On Sunday, Thomas will be piloting an F-35C, the newest aircraft in the Navy. She has already made history as the first woman to qualify directly to fly the aircraft, meaning she didn’t have to train on other jets first.
Perkowski will be piloting the plane at the back of Sunday’s formation as they cruise over State Farm Stadium at around 345 miles per hour, a task she called “any pilot’s dream.”
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For her part, Perkowski shrugs off the emphasis on her gender:
Perkowski has spent most of her military career flying on and off a 100,000-ton aircraft carrier that primarily operates in the Indo Pacific Region, including the South China Sea, where she says there is no distinction about her gender.
“What it boils down to is that we trained to do this job together,” she said. “I didn’t join the Navy to be female fighter pilot. I joined the Navy fighter pilot, so to me it makes no difference.”
In addition to honoring Capt. Rosemary Mariner, the Navy’s first female jet pilot, the team aims to honor all who serve.
Both Perkowski and Thomas said they will also be honoring every man and woman in the service during the flyover.
“There’s also men and women that we serve with every day. They work on my jet. They’re the ones that make sure that I am able to fly,” Perkowski said. “So to be able to carry them with us, it’s really exciting.”
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