First US woman to finish Israeli Air Force pilot course is Boston olah
The Air Force's prestigious pilot's course is notoriously difficult, and a vast majority of cadets don't make it to graduation.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFBoston-native Lt. O is the first US woman to graduate from the IAF's pilot's course.(photo credit: IAF)
A lone soldier from Boston made history on Wednesday as the first US-born woman to successfully complete the Israel Air Force’s pilot’s course.Identified only as Lt. O., the 21-year-old is one of two women to gain her wings in the course. The daughter of a Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) employee in New England, Lt. O. immigrated on her own after graduating from high school a year early and taking a gap year to backpack through Central America.Following her father, who was an IAF fighter navigator, she took the IAF qualifying exams and was accepted. The IAF’s prestigious pilot’s course is notoriously difficult, and most cadets don’t make it to graduation. Only 39 cadets successfully completed course 181 out of the initial intake of 500.“In addition to making history, it’s important to remember that Lt. O. was not obligated to serve in the IDF, but chose to become a lone soldier in order to protect Israel,” FIDF New England executive director Luba Loewenberg said in a statement.“Lt. O. demonstrates how one person can secure a future for the broader Jewish community. From all of us in Boston, mazel tov and thank you – we are so proud!”
