First female Marine to fly F-35C

Marine 1st Lt. Catherine Stark earned her Wings of Gold as a Marine aviator at Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas, on Aug. 2, and is now preparing to begin training with the fifth-generation F-35C Navy stealth fighter. She’s been in training since early 2016 after graduating from the Naval Academy in aerospace engineering. After officer school, she reported to NAS Pensacola, Fla., for initial flight training. After more than two years of training in the T-6B Texan II primary flight trainer and the T-45C Goshawk advanced training jet, she has been selected to be the first female Marine to fly the F-35C (Navy) variant. There are three variants of the F-35s: Air Force (A), Marines (B), and Navy (C). The Marines’ F-35B has short and vertical takeoff capabilities. The F-35C has greater range and stealth capabilities, and operates from aircraft carriers. Stark is scheduled to begin training with the “Rough Raiders” of VFA-125 Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) at NAS Lemoore, Calif. The FRS takes pilots who have recently completed training and transitions them to their assigned fleet aircraft. The “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 became the Navy’s first operational F-35C fleet squadron this year. The Marine Corps does not yet have an operational F-35C squadron, however Stark’s selection marks the beginning of that integration. (Source: CNATRA 08/02/19) Stark is the fourth of eight children in her Erie, Pa., family and among three in the military. Her brother, Lt. Joseph Stark, is a Naval Supply Systems Command logistics director for Seal Team 4, and Zofia Stark, who, like her sister, graduated from the Naval Academy in 2016, and is a first lieutenant in the Marines.