First Female Italian Navy Strike Fighter Pilot Earns Wings of Gold

摘要

The Italian navy's first female strike fighter pilot received her Wings of Gold on March 11 after completing undergraduate flight training with the "Tigers" of Training Squadron (VT) 9 at Naval Air Station (NAS) Meridian, Mississippi. Italian navy Ensign Erika Raballo was designated a naval aviator during a small winging ceremony at the base chapel with five classmates, marking a significant milestone in Italian and U.S. Naval Aviation history and further strengthening the partnership between the two nations. "We are all incredibly proud of Ensign Raballo," said VT-9 Commanding Officer Cmdr. Meghan Angermann. "She has proven she is a capable, competent warfighter ready to take her strike aviation training to the next level. She and her classmates worked hard to get to this point and what they can and will accomplish in the future is limitless." Raballo conducted her final graded curriculum event March 10 in a T-45C Goshawk jet trainer aircraft. She returned to her squadron mates waiting on the Training Air Wing 1 flight line for a traditional "soft winging" ceremony during which Angermann presented Raballo with a fabric patch emblazoned with the Wings of Gold.