A 34-year-old Israeli Air Force pilot made history Tuesday when she became the first woman ever named a leader of an IAF flight squadron.
IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin appointed Maj. G. (IAF pilots are not allowed to be identified by name) leader of the 122nd squadron. G. enlisted in the military in 2003 and completed the IAF's 151st pilots training course as a transport pilot.
When G. earned her wings, she flew in the 135th and 131st squadrons and began climbing through the ranks.
From 2015–2017, G. served as deputy leader of the 122nd squadron, which she will now lead.
G., a mother of two, said she was happy about being named squadron commander
"It's a great privilege as well as a great responsibility. The real work is still ahead of me. I'm proud to serve in the IAF," she said.
G.'s new appointment marks the highest achievement for female pilots since Alice Miller waged her High Court battle in the 1990s to be allowed into the then-all male pilots course.
Miller never earned her wings, but she paved the way for other women.
Since she won her case and the IAF opened the cockpit to women, over 50 women have become combat and transport pilots, navigators, and loadmasters.
In January of this year, the glass ceiling was first broken when Norkin appointed the first woman to command an aviation squadron.
