Carey Dunai Lohrenz (born October 5, 1968) is a former lieutenant in the U.S. Navy who was one of the first fully qualified female naval aviators to fly the

F-14 Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic aircraft, supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experi ...

in the U.S. military.

Biography

Lohrenz was born in 1968 in

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...

, to Robert E. Dunai and Carol T. Dunai. Her father served in the military as a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

Naval Aviator. Raised in

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...

, Lohrenz graduated from

Pulaski High School Pulaski High School is a public high school in Pulaski, Wisconsin, United States, in Brown County (school district also serves parts of Shawano, Outagamie and Oconto counties), that serves students in grades 9 through 12. Its mascot is the Re ...

, where she was a member of the

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...

and played volleyball, basketball, and softball. Lohrenz is a 1990 graduate of the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, where she was a three-time varsity letter winner in rowing. In 1991, Lohrenz graduated from Aviation Officer Candidate School at

Naval Air Station Pensacola Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...

, Florida. Commissioned an ensign in June 1991, Lohrenz was sent to flight school at

Naval Air Station Corpus Christi Naval Air Station Corpus Christi is a United States Navy naval air base located six miles (10 km) southeast of the central business district (CBD) of Corpus Christi, in Nueces County, Texas. History A naval air station for Corpus Christi ...

, Texas, and then to Naval Air Station

Kingsville, Texas Kingsville is a city in the southern region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Kleberg County. Located on the U.S. Route 77 corridor between Corpus Christi and Harlingen, Kingsville is the principal city of the Kingsville Micropo ...

, for advanced jet training. Earning her wings in June 1993, Lohrenz receiving her

Naval Aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

Wings of Gold from retired Commander Randall "Duke" Cunningham, one of the Navy's two

fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

s during the Vietnam War and later a U.S. congressman. She received follow-on orders to the F-14 Fleet Replacement Squadron, Fighter Squadron 124 (

VF-124 Fighter Squadron 124 or VF-124 ''Gunfighters'' was a fleet replacement squadron (FRS) of the United States Navy. Originally established on 16 August 1948 as VF-53, it was redesignated VF-124 at NAS Moffett Field on 11 April 1958 due to a need for ...

) at

Naval Air Station Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) , formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the avi ...

, California. She was one of the two first female Naval Aviators in the U.S. Navy to train and fully qualify as fighter pilots in the F-14 Tomcat. Resigning from the U.S. Navy in 1999, Lohrenz began a career as a leadership expert and professional speaker. She wrote a ''Wall Street Journal'' best-selling book, ''Fearless Leadership: High-Performance Lessons From the Flight Deck'', published by Greenleaf Book Group Press in 2014, about her experiences as a female aviator. In 2021, Carey Lohrenz wrote another ''Wall Street Journal'' best-selling book, ''Span of Control: What To Do When You're Under Pressure, Overwhelmed, And Ready To Get What You Really Want,'' published b
Forbes

Personal life

On July 2, 1994, she married Donovan Lohrenz. They have four children.

Television and radio appearances

Lohrenz has appeared on

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, and

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

.
CBS
Navy's first female fighter pilot on leadership, overcoming obstacles. *

: ''For Family, For Country: Military Moms Do It All'' - discussing parenting in the military.

References

External links

Official WebsiteFearless Leadership: High-Performance Lessons from the Flight DeckSpan Of Control: What To Do When You're Under Pressure, Overwhelmed, And Ready To Get What You Really Want

National Public Radio: 'For Family, For Country': Military Moms Do It All
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lohrenz, Casy 1968 births Living people Female United States Navy officers People from Racine, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Military personnel from Wisconsin Writers from Wisconsin 21st-century American women American women aviators Aviators from Wisconsin