WEBVTT 00:00.680 --> 00:02.680 I never saw the Blue Angels until I 00:02.680 --> 00:04.847 enlisted and I was actually working in 00:04.847 --> 00:06.902 Oceania in Virginia Beach , Virginia 00:06.902 --> 00:08.902 and they came there to do their air 00:08.902 --> 00:11.124 show that they do every year . And that 00:11.124 --> 00:10.539 was the first time I saw them . And it 00:10.550 --> 00:12.772 is absolutely stunning . You can't help 00:12.772 --> 00:14.883 but look up at the sky and watch that 00:14.883 --> 00:17.050 incredible performance , especially if 00:17.050 --> 00:16.819 you've never seen anything like that 00:16.829 --> 00:19.510 before . And I , I can't believe that 00:19.520 --> 00:21.742 I'm sitting on this side of things this 00:21.742 --> 00:24.260 year . I'm Lieutenant Amanda Lee . I am 00:24.270 --> 00:26.492 number three , the left wing for the US 00:26.492 --> 00:28.659 Navy Blue Angels . I grew up in Mounds 00:28.659 --> 00:30.659 View Minnesota and I've been in the 00:30.659 --> 00:33.299 military for over 16 years . Now . When 00:33.310 --> 00:35.680 I enlisted back in 2007 , my initial 00:35.689 --> 00:37.750 goal was to go back to school for 00:37.759 --> 00:40.009 medical school . And when I picked up a 00:40.020 --> 00:42.131 commissioning source , all I knew was 00:42.131 --> 00:44.076 aviation . I was like , let's give 00:44.076 --> 00:46.298 pilot a shot . So I picked up pilot and 00:46.298 --> 00:48.298 then my goal was to get back to the 00:48.298 --> 00:50.464 F-18 platform . And that's kind of how 00:50.464 --> 00:52.520 I found myself in Fighter Aviation . 00:52.520 --> 00:54.576 The , you know , the first time that 00:54.576 --> 00:56.631 you get in and fly F-18 . I remember 00:56.631 --> 00:58.742 the first time I lit after burner , I 00:58.742 --> 01:00.853 giggled . Uh , so hard going down the 01:00.853 --> 01:02.964 runway because you get pushed back in 01:02.964 --> 01:04.909 the seat . The first time I did an 01:04.909 --> 01:07.076 aerobatic maneuver was actually in the 01:07.076 --> 01:09.242 T six . I asked my instructors , I get 01:09.242 --> 01:11.409 all set on param . We're about to do a 01:11.409 --> 01:13.520 loop and I'm like , do I just do it ? 01:13.520 --> 01:15.687 He's like you just do it and we just , 01:15.687 --> 01:15.660 we just did it and then you kind of get 01:15.669 --> 01:17.836 more practice after you get that first 01:17.836 --> 01:20.002 one out of the way . And it's the same 01:20.002 --> 01:22.058 thing here on the team . You kind of 01:22.058 --> 01:21.550 think to yourself . Are we really gonna 01:21.559 --> 01:23.889 do this loop in formation ? Yes , we're 01:23.900 --> 01:26.067 just gonna do it . We're gonna see how 01:26.067 --> 01:28.289 it goes and we're gonna get better from 01:28.289 --> 01:30.511 there . I have found that throughout my 01:30.511 --> 01:32.567 life . If I have given it 100% of my 01:32.567 --> 01:32.370 effort , I have found that 01:32.379 --> 01:34.629 opportunities open doors , but it's 01:34.639 --> 01:36.917 because of them that I was able to say , 01:36.917 --> 01:39.169 I want to try to be a pilot . I want to 01:39.180 --> 01:41.124 try to apply the Blue Angels and I 01:41.124 --> 01:43.236 don't even have to think about it . I 01:43.236 --> 01:45.458 don't have to think about obstacles . I 01:45.458 --> 01:45.190 just know that hey , I meet these 01:45.199 --> 01:47.421 qualifications . I think I'd be a great 01:47.421 --> 01:49.532 candidate . Let me give it a shot . I 01:49.532 --> 01:51.699 think . Not just women in the Navy , I 01:51.699 --> 01:54.449 think overall to anybody step outside 01:54.459 --> 01:56.681 your comfort zone . Do things that make 01:56.681 --> 01:58.903 you nervous or that you're scared to do 01:58.903 --> 02:00.959 because you're always gonna surprise 02:00.959 --> 02:03.181 yourself at how well you can do and how 02:03.181 --> 02:05.839 brave you are . I think some of the , 02:05.849 --> 02:08.071 the best parts of this job are going up 02:08.071 --> 02:10.238 to crowd line and meeting the public . 02:10.238 --> 02:12.580 A lot of the kids that I see at crowd 02:12.589 --> 02:14.756 line , their parents come up to me and 02:14.756 --> 02:16.867 they're like , you are their favorite 02:16.867 --> 02:19.145 person on the team . And then I'm like , 02:19.145 --> 02:21.311 oh , do you wanna fly ? They're like , 02:21.311 --> 02:23.367 nope , I want to , you know , insert 02:23.367 --> 02:22.789 whatever they wanna do . And that is 02:22.800 --> 02:24.911 what is so cool is that they can have 02:24.911 --> 02:28.050 role models that are totally outside of 02:28.059 --> 02:30.281 what they wanna do . And that's kind of 02:30.281 --> 02:32.448 what I'm hoping to inspire that ripple 02:32.448 --> 02:34.503 effect that not just Navy , not just 02:34.503 --> 02:36.949 naval aviation , but better yourself in 02:36.960 --> 02:39.089 your community and in our country . 02:39.610 --> 02:42.449 Happy birthday . Navy 248 years .