Sheila L. Chamberlain is an American pilot. She was the first black woman combat intelligence pilot in the United States Army and the first woman to be elected to the national Tuskegee Airmen. She is a member of the United States Air Force Hall of Fame.

Early life and education

Chamberlain grew up in West Germany. She attended Fort Knox High School. Her father was a United States Army engineer and her mother owned a business. Her cousin was Captain Luke Weathers, the only person from Memphis to become one of the original

Tuskegee Airman The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the ...

. Chamberlain studied at Spelman College. She graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

from Spelman College in 1981. She was a postgraduate at the University of Oklahoma. Chamberlain attended flight school, where she was mentored by

Willa Brown Willa Beatrice Brown (January 22, 1906 – July 18, 1992) was an American aviator, lobbyist, teacher, and civil rights activist. She was the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license in the United States, the first African Ame ...

. She was the fifth African-American woman to graduate from the United States Army flight school.

Career

In 1985, Chamberlain was made the United States Army first black woman combat intelligence pilot. Chamberlain spent fifteen years of service in the United States and overseas. She completed three tours in

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

, Korea and Persian Gulf War. She held two command posts. Chamberlain was part of the unit that stabilised

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

after

Hurricane Andrew Hurricane Andrew was a very powerful and destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It is the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures damaged ...

in 1992. She was the first woman to be elected to the Tuskegee Airmen in 1998. Chamberlain was a member of the Fort Rucker section of the Tuskegee Airmen. After Hurricane Andrew, Chamberlain decided to retire from the air force and returned to higher education. She earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

at the University of Miami School of Law in 1996. After graduating, she worked as a senate legislative assistant. She ran as a democratic candidate for state senator. She gave testimony to the United States House of Representatives on why women should be assigned to aviation units. A year after she left, the United States Department of Defense announced that women would be permitted to fly combat aircraft. She was part of the Women Veterans Organisation.

Awards and honours

Chamberlain has won various awards and honours, including the Tuskegee Airmen Blades Award, the National Defense Service Medal and the

General George C. Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the US Army under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S ...

Award. In 2016 she was named as one of Legacy South Florida Magazine's top 25 most influential and prominent black women in business and industry. She was honoured as an exceptional alumna of Spelman College in 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chamberlain, Sheila L. United States Army personnel of the Gulf War Spelman College alumni University of Miami School of Law alumni University of Oklahoma alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Women in the United States Army