“They really do respect you and see you as their equal”
July 18, 2024
Caroline ‘Blaze’ Jensen is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force and a graduate of the USAF Academy. She amassed more than 3,500 flying hours across various aircraft, including the F-16 Fighting Falcon, flying in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom, instructing and with the Thunderbirds demonstration squadron. She also made history as the first woman to qualify to fly the Boeing T7A Red Hawk, the air force’s forthcoming advanced jet trainer. Ben Griffiths finds out more about her trailblazing career.
What is your background in the industry? Where did it all begin for you?
I grew up in Wisconsin. My grandmother on my mother’s side was in the US Coast Guard and my dad’s dad was also in the Coast Guard during World War Two and in the North Atlantic. Dad was a US Marine Corps helicopter pilot in Vietnam and, when I was young, was still serving in the Minnesota National Guard. I would go to work with him and see routine exercises of Hueys flying around and people and cargo parachuting to the ground from C-130s. I also saw a movie with a biplane flying around cumulonimbus clouds that mesmerized me. To this day, getting to do some cloud chasing would be a wonderful day. I also saw Top Gun in 1987. But I wanted to be Maverick, not Charlie!
I went to see the Air Force Academy liaison officer who told me: “You’re too young and women aren’t allowed to fly fighters.” I was 12 or 13; you don’t start the process until later. At that time the USA had a law excluding women from combat roles. Dad told me the rules have changed and that they used to allow women to fly during WWII – the WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots). So, it was my job to make sure I was ready when the rules changed back. I joined the Air Force Academy in 1994. I always wanted to be a fighter pilot. But when I started, I’d only been in a Cessna 152 once and an airliner a couple of times! They had a glider program at the Academy. I had a hard time with academics my first year at the Academy, but I learned to fly a Schweitzer 233 in Colorado Springs and was good enough to be selected as a glider instructor pilot. I racked up about 120 hours doing 0.1 or 0.2 hours at a time. I loved it and it gave me a really strong foundation.
What are your ambitions in aviation? Where do you want to go next with this?
I retired from the Air Force in 2020 and went to work for Boeing on the T-7 Redhawk programme. It’s amazing; a brand-new aircraft, built from scratch. I was fortunate when working in sales and marketing and business development that I got to fly five hours in the jet. I did all the simulators and academics got taken under the wing of the test pilots and flew the aircraft to be displayed in the background when General Brown took over as Chief of Staff of the US Air Force.
My aspirations now are to help other people achieve their best personally or professionally, in or out of aviation. It’s all due to the history of WWII and the women pilots who really inspired me to do what I did. I want their story to resonate with a new generation.
I’m also looking to get my tailwheel checkout on a Citabria. And I’m part of a Commemorative Air Force squadron that has a B-25. It’d be amazing to fly that.
What’s your best memory around aviation? What would you tell your grandchildren about?
It’s too hard to pick one. There’s some vivid memories. One of the first was taking off in a T-38 and lighting the afterburners. We climbed through maybe 1,000 ft and turned 180 degrees and by the time I got abeam the airfield I was at 10,000ft. I remember being pressed back in the seat and you’re stretching your arm to hold the throttles fully out.
Then there’d be flying over the Air Force Academy for the first time as a Thunderbird pilot. That goes back to being a cadet. I’d worked super hard from aged 12 to get in. I worked hard to get the grades and leadership experience captaining sports teams. But I came close to failing in my first year. The academy has a heavy science-based academic core curriculum. At the end of the first term, I had worked very hard just to barely pass my classes. I was walking on the campus and feeling down, thinking: “I’ve given this 110% and I barely passed.”
Then there was this noise. It scared me. Between the mountains and the chapel, a Thunderbird jet went past. When you see those jets, you feel it emotionally and you get excited. You can physically feel it too. It was incredible. From that point on, they were going to have to kick me out. I was going to do whatever it took to make it happen.
That was 1995. In 2012 I got to the Academy to fly with the Thunderbirds. I realised there I was in that same jet and I hope I inspired someone else down below who was having a hard time.
What’s your best advice for younger people thinking about following in your footsteps?
I’d reach back to my younger self and tell her to enjoy the journey. Keep working hard. We all face a lot of failures. Perseverance is important. Expecting failure is a good learning lesson and a platform for later successes. If it’s something you really truly want, you need to keep pushing forward. Sometimes dreams do need to be readjusted. But surround yourself with people who will support you in your goals. Ironically, I failed an English paper which was about me wanting to join the Air Force and becoming a fighter pilot!
Also remember there are a lot of great scholarships out there. Find some mentors and apply for them. And go to the airport and just hang out. Meet pilots and talk to them.
Do you have any aviation heroes or idols, past or present?
The World War Two WASPs keep me going. I have a leather version of their patch that was on my kneeboard for every flight I ever did. I was fortunate to be friends with a lot of the ladies, including Nell ‘Mickey’ Bright. Only around six are still living. My friend Mickey is one of them. We talk so much. She is so wise.
When I was on the Thunderbirds we flew at Oshkosh in 2014. I believe it was the first time an advanced jet demo team had done it. One of my WASP friends invited me. We were four of the demo pilots and they embraced us with open arms. We got to spend time with another WASP, Bernice ‘Bee’ Falk-Haydu, and it was a beautiful day. Bee’s WASP uniform is in the Smithsonian. When we went to leave, I got into the car with the guys and Bee knocked on the window and was motioning to me. She took me to the back of the car and got hold of both my hands. She said: “They really do respect you and see you as their equal.” To go from where she was to see the evolution of women in aviation – me, a fighter pilot and operating with squadron mates in a high-capacity environment. It was really important to show her, without her, none of it would have happened for me or women in general.
What inspires you about this industry and the people in it?
My relationship with all the WASPs. They were old enough to be my grandmother but it was like a sisterhood. The pilot mentality and love of aviation is timeless. Even though people have different experiences, a lot of them are universally the same. I enjoy that. As fighter pilots we have a culture and standards and I love being around other pilots. There’s an attitude and confidence and a love of the air.
What does success look like? How will you know when you’ve got there?
I spent a lot of time working from high school to the academy. I’ve tried to learn to live in the moment. I have a speaking business now and would love to do some international speeches. I have a children’s book I wrote about my time on the Thunderbirds called ‘Thundermouse’ and I’m working on a leadership book on how to take intense pressure and come out with a brilliant outcome. And I’d love to teach my son how to fly.
You can find out more about Blaze Jenson via her website, here.
