On July 16, Marine One piloted by all-female crew

Somehow I'd missed this when it happened:

Historic All-Female Crew To Pilot Marine One
July 16, 2009
When President Obama boards his Marine One helicopter today, it will mark the last day in the rotation for Major Jennifer Grieves, the first woman pilot of Marine One.

Grieves, of Glendale, Ariz., became the helicopter aircraft commander of Marine One in May, 2008 - so she started out flying President Bush.

The Marine One crew is made up entirely of women today in honor of her achievement, the White House said.

The co-pilot is Major Jennifer Marino of Palisade, Colorado.

The crew chief is Sgt. Rachael Sherman of Traverse City, Michigan.



Here's the link to this very short article: All Female Crew on Marine One

Here's some more links highlighting these role models, in particular Jennifer Grieves

From The New Agenda:
http://thenewagenda.net/2009/07/20/its-pilot-jennifer-grieves-accomplishment-not-the-presidents/

Here's the video


ABC News:
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/PersonOfWeek/Story?id=8114091&page=1

It's not really about being a female," said Grieves, 38. "It's about being a Marine and about being part of an organization that is exceptional."

There are only five Marine pilots selected at any one time to fly the president and his family.

"Of course, it's nerve wracking to fly the president of the United States," she said. "I think my most stressful days are when I fly Sasha and Malia."

Marines take no chances when flying, even on the simplest of flights. They follow the exact same protocol for every flight, no matter who is on board.

http://www.iwar.org.uk/news-archive/2005/02-01.htm
This article is from 2005. She only appears in a small picture.


Major Jennifer Grieves was the first female pilot of Marine One...but the only way to know if the glass ceiling is broken is when another woman gets that signal honor - which means that there are enough elite women pilots in the Marines now for a woman to be chosen as a matter of course.