Col. Dunlop Will Be The First Woman To Command A Test Pilot Wing

Col. Dawn Dunlop (pictured, right), who was the first woman to fly the F-22 Raptor in 2003, will become the the first female test pilot to command an Air Force Wing when she assumes that role with the 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base, CA on June 4th.

Dunlop graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1988, and flew the T-38 Talon as an instructor pilot. She was among the first women to fly fighters for the Air Force when that ban was rescinded in 1993. She continued her career flying operational F-15E Strike Eagles for 2 1/2 years, and was accepted in the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB in 1997. She was flying test missions in an F-15 the following year.

The Air Force Times reports that she was selected as an operations officer for the F-22 Combined Test Force at Edwards in 2003 and became the first woman to fly the jet that November. She has also served as the Air Staff’s Senate liaison division and a White House fellow.

After returning to Edwards last August as vice commander of the 412th, she now assumes command from Brig. Gen. William Thornton, who is moving to Materiel Command headquarters at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH.

FMI: www.af.mil