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Katie Higgins Cook
Katie Higgins Cook (née Johnson) (born August 27, 1986)[1] is an American aviator and officer in the United States Marine Corps. In 2015, she became the first female Blue Angels pilot,[2] and flew the Blue Angels’ C-130 transport plane Fat Albert for two seasons.[3] Her first show with the Blue Angels demonstration team was in El Centro, California, in March 2015.[4] Then known as Marine Captain Katie Higgins, she made her Blue Angels debut at the age of 28.[5] Early life and educationBorn in Jacksonville, Florida,[1] Katie Johnson grew up in a military family that moved frequently, living in places including California and Japan.[5] She is a third-generation pilot.[5] Her father, Bill Johnson, was a 1981 Naval Academy graduate who flew an F/A-18 Hornet in the United States Navy and later worked as an engineer for Northrop Grumman.[5] She graduated from W. T. Woodson High School in Fairfax, Virginia, in 2004.[5] Higgins completed a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 2008.[3][6] Commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps, she went on to study international security at Georgetown University, where she completed a Master of Arts degree in 2009.[6] She has a younger brother who also graduated from Annapolis in 2010, and works in explosives.[2][5] Career Higgins became a naval aviator with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252.[7] She served in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.[6] At age 26, in her first action against the Taliban in 2013, she piloted a KC-130 (call sign "Filth02"), which fired two Hellfire missiles and eliminated an enemy position, saving the lives of a group of Marines.[8] She also deployed to Africa with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis-Response in support of contingency operations.[6] By 2015, she had flown nearly 400 combat hours in seven countries.[5][9] Blue AngelsIn July 2014, the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron announced the selection of Marine Captain Higgins and other officers to the 2015 demonstration team.[7][5] Higgins received repeated comments that the only reason she was selected was because she was a woman, but insisted that with the Blue Angels, "The candidate that is the best fit, gets the job – regardless of gender."[10] Higgins was in her first Blue Angels demonstration in March 2015.[5] The C-130 Hercules named Fat Albert, which she piloted on rotation with other Marines, is the opening act of every Blue Angels show lasting eight-and-a-half minutes.[9] The fastest maneuver performed by Fat Albert is called the "flat path", flying at 370 miles per hour at 40 feet.[4] Other maneuvers include the "parade pass", a 300-foot pass at a 60-degree angle, and the "high-pitch climb", a 45-degree climb to 1,200 feet, followed by a steep nose dive that causes weightlessness for passengers in the back of the plane.[9][5] By 2019, she was known as Katie Higgins Cook and had attained the rank of Marine Major.[10] Media appearancesIn 2020, Cook made a guest appearance on the 24th season premiere of The Bachelor.[11] During the episode, she helped bachelor Peter Weber, a Delta Air Lines pilot, organize a group date, in which he put the female contestants through a flight training program including a gyroscope ride.[11] Major Katie Higgins Cook was recognized in American Valor: A Salute to Our Heroes, an Emmy-winning television special produced by the American Veterans Center and narrated by Harrison Ford.[8] Personal lifeKatie Higgins married fellow Blue Angels pilot Dusty Cook, whom she first met when they were both at VMGR-252 and started dating after he left the Blue Angels team.[11][12] They live in Texas with their children.[12] Gallery
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External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Katie Higgins Cook.
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