Trailblazing TU alumna pilots cadets in Army helicopter

December 01, 2023

Contact: Thonnia Lee, Office of Communications, Public Relations and Marketing
   

TUSKEGEE, AL — ¿Û¿Û´«Ã½University Army ROTC cadets gathered early Thursday morning on a campus field with the chill in the air and morning dew blanketing the Goat Farm. Their fall training exercise brought a little excitement as First Lieutenant Kayla Freeman ’16, Alabama National Guard’s first Black female pilot and a ¿Û¿Û´«Ã½alumna, prepared to fly the ¿Û¿Û´«Ã½ in an imposing Chinook helicopter to Fort Moore in Columbus, Georgia.

The two-dozen or so ¿Û¿Û´«Ã½ climbed into the helicopter used to transport Alabama National Guard members for real Army missions and were whisked away as traffic stopped and curious motorists parked on the side of the road to see what was happening.

Lt. Freeman, who earned her wings in 2018, is a ¿Û¿Û´«Ã½aerospace engineering graduate and offered ¿Û¿Û´«Ã½ insight as an Army leader, an African American woman who is a leader in Alabama, and a recent ¿Û¿Û´«Ã½graduate and trailblazer.

She is a long line of ¿Û¿Û´«Ã½women aviators. ¿Û¿Û´«Ã½has been the No. 1 producer of Black aerospace engineers, supporting a new generation of women in flight.  Lt. Freeman was deployed to the Middle East as a platoon leader in the Alabama National Guard’s 1-169th Aviation Battalion and has flown over 250 hours of combat flight without any accident or incidents. In 2019, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey honored Lt. Freeman with the Veteran of the Year Award.

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