Jeanine McIntosh Menze is a

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

officer. She holds the distinction of becoming the first black female in the U.S. Coast Guard to earn the Coast Guard Aviation designation. At the time of her graduation, she was the first black female aviator in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Early life and education

McIntosh was born in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

. After graduating from

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...

in 2001, she decided to pursue her dream of flying, taking flying lessons at

North Perry Airport North Perry Airport is a public airport in the City of Pembroke Pines, west of the central business district of Hollywood, in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is also known as Hollywood North Perry Airport, hence the HWO codes. The a ...

Pembroke Pines Pembroke Pines is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is located 22 miles (35 km) north of Miami. The population of Pembroke Pines is 171,178 as of the 2020 census. It is a suburb of and the fourth-most populous c ...

(

Broward County, Florida Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 m ...

). Menzie attended Vaz Preparatory School in

. Her family moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

before relocating to South Florida, where she graduated from

Miami Killian High School Miami Killian Senior High School is a secondary school located at 10655 SW 97th Ave, Miami, FL 33176 in the Kendall area of unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida. The school is part of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools System. Miami Killi ...

in May 1997 and

in May 2001 with an international business degree. She also served as a flight instructor at

Opa-locka Airport Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport (formerly Opa-locka Airport and Opa-locka Executive Airport until 2014) is a joint civil-military airport located in Miami-Dade County, Florida north of downtown Miami. Part of the airport is in the city limit ...

Opa-locka, Florida Opa-locka is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,463, up from 15,219 in 2010. The city was developed by Glenn Curtiss. Developed based on a ''One Thousand and One Nights'' theme, Op ...

Career

Menze joined the U.S. Coast Guard in 2003 after graduation from the Coast Guard

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and Enlisted rank, enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a Commission (document), commission as Commissioned officer, officers in the armed forces of a country. ...

. She began Coast Guard aviation training 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 in January 2005. She earned her aviator wings on June 24, 2005 and was assigned to fly

HC-130 Hercules The Lockheed HC-130 is an extended-range, search and rescue (SAR)/combat search and rescue (CSAR) version of the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft, with two different versions operated by two separate services in the U.S. armed forc ...

aircraft out of Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii. After graduation she served as a pilot of the HC-130 Hercules airplanes and flew rescue missions for the U.S. Coast Guard in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

following

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

. As of 2020, Menze holds the rank of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

References

External links

www.uscg.mil/history/people/McIntosh_Menze_Jeanine.asp
- U.S. Coast Guard photo coverage of LTJG McIntosh
Pilot visits with Franklin kids
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menze, Jeanine Living people Year of birth missing (living people) African-American female military personnel Jamaican emigrants to the United States United States Coast Guard Aviation United States Coast Guard officers Female United States Coast Guard personnel United States Naval Aviators Florida International University people African-American United States Coast Guard personnel People from Kingston, Jamaica African-American women aviators American women aviators African-American aviators Women United States Naval Aviators 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women