US Navy's 1st Black female Tactical Aircraft pilot to get her 'Wings of Gold'

KINGSVILLE, Texas -- The U.S. Navy's first Black female Tactical Aircraft pilot will receive her "Wings of Gold" during a ceremony in Kingsville, Texas today.

Lt. j.g. Madeline "Maddy" Swegle said she has dreamed of becoming a pilot ever since her parents took her to see the Blue Angels as a little girl.

Now, she is following in the footsteps of Brenda E. Robinson, the first Black female naval aviator, who earned her Wings of Gold in 1980.

Swegle's winging ceremony will take place at Naval Air Station in Kingsville.

Swegle became the U.S. Navy's first Black female Tactical Aircraft pilot on July 7 after she completed her final undergraduate training in a T-45C Goshawk jet trainer, ABC News reported.

"MAKING HISTORY!" the U.S. Navy tweeted earlier this month.

The Naval Air Training Command tweeted that Swegle is the Navy's "first known Black female TACAIR pilot."

According to Stars and Stripes, Swegle is from Burke, Virginia, and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2017.

Officials said she is assigned to the Redhawks of Training Squadron 21.

Swegle's milestone comes more than 45 years after Rosemary Mariner in 1974 became the first woman to fly a tactical fighter jet, according to news outlets.