The U.S. Coast Guard appointed its first black female helicopter pilot.
"There are 1,200 pilots in the Coast Guard," said Lt. Commander Elizabeth Booker, the USCG operations officer in Los Angeles, "of which only 85 are female. So she’s a huge minority here. We are very proud to have her."

Lt. JG La’Shanda Holmes, 25, is now an inspiration on USCG search and rescue missions in Southern California because of her achievement. Colleagues believe Holmes will motivate others, especially minority girls, to aim for the sky.

"I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon," she said, "It wasn’t perfect for me. If you don’t put a limit on what you want out of life, keep dreaming. Anything is possible."

Holmes is the pride of Fayetteville, NC where she grew up in foster care with more than a dozen siblings.

Another aviation pioneer, Lt. Jeanne Menze, mentored Holmes. Menze was the first black female pilot in the Coast Guard and flies fixed-wing aircraft. source
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