Katie Higgins Cook
{{Short description|Blue Angels pilot}}
{{About|the American pilot|the American voice actor and musician|Kate Higgins|the American comic artist and writer|Katie Cook (writer)}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox military person
| birth_name = Katie Ann Johnson
| image = Blue Angels announce 2015 team members 140709-N-WJ386-082 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Marine Captain Higgins in 2015
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1986|08|27}}
| birth_place = Jacksonville, Florida
| branch = United States Marine Corps
| known_for = First female Blue Angels pilot
| spouse = Dusty Cook
| rank = Major
}}
Katie Higgins Cook (née Johnson) (born August 27, 1986){{Cite web |title=2005-06 Women's Swimming & Diving Roster – Katie Johnson |url=https://navysports.com/sports/womens-swimming-and-diving/roster/katie-johnson/12026 |access-date=2023-08-19 |website=Navy Sports}} is an American aviator and officer in the United States Marine Corps. In 2015, she became the first female Blue Angels pilot,{{Cite news |last=Dvorak |first=Petula |date=June 21, 2015 |title=Breaking the gender (and sound) barrier – Capt. Katie Higgins is first female Blue Angels Pilot |page=D3 |work=The Modesto Bee |agency=The Washington Post |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-modesto-bee-breaking-the-gender-and/125328655/ |access-date=May 26, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=May 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526035151/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-modesto-bee-breaking-the-gender-and/125328655/ |url-status=live }} and flew the Blue Angels’ C-130 transport plane Fat Albert for two seasons.{{Cite news |last=Gabriel |first=Melissa Nelson |date=July 15, 2016 |title=For Pilot, Fans Are True Blue |work=Pensacola News Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/pensacola-news-journal-for-pilot-fans-a/125328857/ |access-date=May 26, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=May 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526040403/https://www.newspapers.com/article/pensacola-news-journal-for-pilot-fans-a/125328857/ |url-status=live }} Her first show with the Blue Angels demonstration team was in El Centro, California, in March 2015.{{Cite news |last=Gadsden |first=Ginger |last2=Evans |first2=Tara |date=March 30, 2021 |title='The sky is the limit,' says first female Blue Angels pilot |work=ClickOrlando.com |publisher=Graham Media Group |url=https://www.clickorlando.com/features/2021/03/30/the-sky-is-the-limit-says-first-female-blue-angels-pilot/ |access-date=May 28, 2023 |archive-date=May 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528151214/https://www.clickorlando.com/features/2021/03/30/the-sky-is-the-limit-says-first-female-blue-angels-pilot/ |url-status=live }} Then known as Marine Captain Katie Higgins, she made her Blue Angels debut at the age of 28.{{Cite news |last=Prudente |first=Tim |date=May 7, 2015 |title=Breaking a gender barrier at 370 mph |pages=A1, A15 |work=The Capital Gazette |publisher=The Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-breaking-a-gender-barr/125329934/ |access-date=May 26, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=May 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526040832/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-breaking-a-gender-barr/125329934/ |url-status=live }}
Early life and education
Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Katie Johnson grew up in a military family that moved frequently, living in places including California and Japan. She is a third-generation pilot. 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. She graduated from W. T. Woodson High School in Fairfax, Virginia, in 2004.
Higgins completed a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 2008.{{Cite news |last=Combs |first=Hannah |date=May 22, 2015 |title=Blue Angels spread wings over Annapolis |page=17 |work=Record Observer |location=Easton, Maryland |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/record-observer-blue-angels-spread-wings/125333298/ |access-date=May 26, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=May 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526072706/https://www.newspapers.com/article/record-observer-blue-angels-spread-wings/125333298/ |url-status=live }} 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. She has a younger brother who also graduated from the Naval Academy in 2010, and works in explosives.
Career
File:Blue Angels Captain Katie Higgins and Major Mark Hamilton.JPG
Higgins became a naval aviator with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252.{{Cite web |title=Photo Gallery – Blue Angels announce 2015 team members |url=https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Photo-Gallery/igphoto/2003150162/ |access-date=May 26, 2023 |website=America's Navy |archive-date=May 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526041329/https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Photo-Gallery/igphoto/2003150162/ |url-status=live }} She served in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. 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 that eliminated an enemy position, saving the lives of a group of Marines. She also deployed to Africa with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis-Response in support of contingency operations. By 2015, she had flown nearly 400 combat hours in seven countries.{{Cite news |last=Thompson |first=Meredith |date=June 3, 2015 |title=Flying Fat Albert: Severna Park's Katie Higgins Ascends As First Female Blue Angels Pilot |work=Severna Park Voice |url=https://severnaparkvoice.com/stories/flying-fat-albert-severna-parks-katie-higgins-ascends-as-first-female-blue-angels-pilot,15971 |access-date=May 28, 2023 |archive-date=May 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528171446/https://severnaparkvoice.com/stories/flying-fat-albert-severna-parks-katie-higgins-ascends-as-first-female-blue-angels-pilot,15971 |url-status=live }}
= Blue Angels =
In July 2014, the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron announced the selection of Marine Captain Higgins and other officers to the 2015 demonstration team. 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."
Higgins was in her first Blue Angels demonstration in March 2015. 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. The fastest maneuver performed by Fat Albert is called the "flat path", flying at 370 miles per hour at 40 feet. 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.
In 2019 Cook was promoted to the rank of Major and by 2025 was a Lt Colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve.{{Cite news |last=Gabriel |first=Melissa Nelson |date=July 20, 2019 |title='She is out there somewhere' |page=6A |work=The Stuart News |location=Stuart, Florida |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-stuart-news-she-is-out-there-somewh/125333274/ |access-date=May 26, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=May 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526083855/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-stuart-news-she-is-out-there-somewh/125333274/ |url-status=live }}
Media appearances
In 2020, Cook made a guest appearance on the 24th season premiere of The Bachelor.{{Cite news |last=Blanks |first=Annie |date=January 5, 2020 |title=First female Fat Albert pilot to guest star on 'Bachelor' |work=Pensacola News Journal |publisher=USA Today Network |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/pensacola-news-journal-first-female-fat/125334085/ |access-date=May 26, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=May 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526090537/https://www.newspapers.com/article/pensacola-news-journal-first-female-fat/125334085/ |url-status=live }} 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.
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.{{Cite web |title=Major Katie Higgins Cook |url=https://www.americanveteranscenter.org/2018/11/major-katie-higgins-cook/#:~:text=Marine%20Corps%20aviator%20and%20veteran,A%20Salute%20to%20Our%20Heroes. |access-date=May 26, 2023 |website=American Veterans Center |archive-date=May 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526092045/https://www.americanveteranscenter.org/2018/11/major-katie-higgins-cook/#:~:text=Marine%20Corps%20aviator%20and%20veteran,A%20Salute%20to%20Our%20Heroes. |url-status=live }}
Personal life
Katie 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.{{Cite news |last=Barber |first=James |date=January 6, 2020 |title=Marine Corps Pilot Katie Cook Helps 'The Bachelor' Find a Mate |work=Military.com |url=https://www.military.com/off-duty/2020/01/06/marine-corps-pilot-katie-cook-helps-bachelor-find-mate.html |access-date=May 28, 2023 |archive-date=May 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529012017/https://www.military.com/off-duty/2020/01/06/marine-corps-pilot-katie-cook-helps-bachelor-find-mate.html |url-status=live }} They live in Texas with their children.
Gallery
File:Hercules, known as "Fat Albert" flown by Katie Higgins.jpg|Blue Angels C-130 piloted by Captain Higgins, May 2015
File:"Fat Albert," assigned to the U.S. Navy flight demonstration squadron.jpg|"Fat Albert" piloted by Higgins at U.S. Naval Academy, 2015
File:Higgins takes flight, makes history 150423-M-SB674-002.jpg|Captain Higgins speaking to media, April 2015
File:Katie Higgins meets fans and sign autographs.jpg|Higgins meeting fans, signing autographs, 2015
File:Capt. Katie Higgins poses in front of "Fat Albert".jpg|Captain Higgins posing in front of "Fat Albert", 2016
See also
- Amanda Lee (pilot), first female Blue Angels fighter jet demonstration pilot
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [https://www.americanveteranscenter.org/2018/11/major-katie-higgins-cook/#:~:text=Marine%20Corps%20aviator%20and%20veteran,A%20Salute%20to%20Our%20Heroes. Video clip from American Valor (American Veterans Center)]
- [https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Photo-Gallery/igphoto/2003150162/ Blue Angels announce 2015 team members (United States Navy)]
- [https://wdet.org/2015/09/01/massive-fat-albert-jet-adds-heft-to-blue-angels-air-show/ Radio interview with Captain Katie Higgins (Detroit's NPR Station)]
{{Blue Angels}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Katie Higgins}}
Category:United States Marines
Category:American military aviators
Category:United States Naval Academy alumni
Category:American women aviators
Category:Women military aviators