III 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 212 Commemorating 50 years of women serving as naval aviators in the United States. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 11, 2023 Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, and Ms. DUCKWORTH) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Commemorating 50 years of women serving as naval aviators in the United States. Whereas, while women had officially served in various capac- ities in the Navy since 1908, prior to 1973, women had been prevented from serving as naval aviators; Whereas, in October 1972, the Navy announced a program to open flight training to women; Whereas, on January 10, 1973, Secretary of the Navy John Warner presented flight training orders to Judith Neuffer, the first woman to be selected for flight training in the Navy; Whereas 7 additional women were selected for training as naval aviators, and the group consisted of 4 women who already served as Navy officers and 4 civilians; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR212.ATS SR212 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •SRES 212 ATS Whereas, on March 2, 1973, the first 4 women already serv- ing as Navy officers began flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida; Whereas the 4 civilian women selected for flight training were commissioned in May 1973, and reported to training at Naval Air Station Pensacola on June 4, 1973; Whereas, on February 22, 1974, Barbara Allen became the first female naval aviator to earn her Wings of Gold; Whereas, out of the 8 women to be selected for flight train- ing, 6 women, nicknamed the ‘‘First Six’’ (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘First Six’’), would go on to earn their Wings of Gold; Whereas the First Six comprised Judith Neuffer, Barbara Allen, Rosemary Conatser, Jane Skiles, Joellen Drag, and Ann Marie Scott; Whereas Naval Air Station Pensacola is the ‘‘Cradle of Naval Aviation’’ and serves as the training ground for every naval aviator; Whereas Naval Air Station Pensacola has played a valuable role in the historic milestone of women training to be naval aviators; and Whereas the First Six became the first women to hold var- ious naval aviation positions in the Navy: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) honors the invaluable contributions that the 2 first 6 women to earn their Wings of Gold (referred 3 to in this resolution as the ‘‘First Six’’) made to 4 naval aviation in the United States; 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR212.ATS SR212 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •SRES 212 ATS (2) applauds the steadfast leadership and cour- 1 age of the First Six that opened doors for women to 2 serve in every level of naval aviation in the United 3 States today; 4 (3) recognizes 50 years of women serving as 5 naval aviators in the United States and the roles 6 that Naval Air Station Pensacola and the Pensacola, 7 Florida community have played in this milestone and 8 in naval aviation history in the United States; and 9 (4) respectfully requests that the Secretary of 10 the Senate transmit an enrolled copy of this resolu- 11 tion to the Commanding Officer of Naval Air Sta- 12 tion Pensacola, Captain Terrence M. Shashaty. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR212.ATS SR212 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB