IAF’s First Female Flight Squadron Leader Takes Command
Lt. Col. G. entered the role of Nachshon Squadron Commander on Wednesday. “You are a role model and an inspiration for thousands of women in the State of Israel,” said IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin
IsraelDefense
| 25/09/2019
Lt. Col. G. with IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amiram Norkin (Photo: IDF)
Lt. Col. G. became the first woman to command an Israeli Air Force squadron when she entered the role of Nachshon Squadron Commander on Wednesday morning.
G., 35, joined the IDF in 2003 and completed the air force’s pilots training course three years later, having specialized in flying transport planes. From 2015 to 2017, she served as deputy commander of the Nachshon Squadron, which operates surveillance aircraft.
“Lt. Col. G, the mother of two boys, you are a role model and an inspiration for thousands of women in the State of Israel,” said IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin at the ceremony celebrating the achievement.
“Congratulations to our first female commander of an operational squadron in the air force, we’ve been waiting for you for 71 years,” he added.
“I believe that it is our duty in the IDF to fulfill the inherent potential in women. We are still far from this goal, but I am sure that this process will continue and that we will appoint female commanders and soldiers in a wide variety of positions in the air force and in the IDF in general,” Norkin said.
Following her nomination for the position last year, G. said in a statement that it was “a great privilege along with a great responsibility. The true work is still ahead. I am proud to serve in the Air Force.”
The IAF named the first-ever woman to head an IAF ground-based aviation operations squadron in January, and the first female deputy commander of an F-15 fighter jet squadron in November.
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Photo: IDF
[Sources: The Times of Israel, Israel Hayom, JNS]
Lt. Col. G. entered the role of Nachshon Squadron Commander on Wednesday. “You are a role model and an inspiration for thousands of women in the State of Israel,” said IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin
Lt. Col. G. with IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amiram Norkin (Photo: IDF)
Lt. Col. G. became the first woman to command an Israeli Air Force squadron when she entered the role of Nachshon Squadron Commander on Wednesday morning.
G., 35, joined the IDF in 2003 and completed the air force’s pilots training course three years later, having specialized in flying transport planes. From 2015 to 2017, she served as deputy commander of the Nachshon Squadron, which operates surveillance aircraft.
“Lt. Col. G, the mother of two boys, you are a role model and an inspiration for thousands of women in the State of Israel,” said IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin at the ceremony celebrating the achievement.
“Congratulations to our first female commander of an operational squadron in the air force, we’ve been waiting for you for 71 years,” he added.
“I believe that it is our duty in the IDF to fulfill the inherent potential in women. We are still far from this goal, but I am sure that this process will continue and that we will appoint female commanders and soldiers in a wide variety of positions in the air force and in the IDF in general,” Norkin said.
Following her nomination for the position last year, G. said in a statement that it was “a great privilege along with a great responsibility. The true work is still ahead. I am proud to serve in the Air Force.”
The IAF named the first-ever woman to head an IAF ground-based aviation operations squadron in January, and the first female deputy commander of an F-15 fighter jet squadron in November.
***
Photo: IDF
[Sources: The Times of Israel, Israel Hayom, JNS]
