Today, we honor Veteran Captain Theresa Claiborne. Theresa’s dad was in the military, she was used to flying all over the world each time they moved. So, it was no surprise that she joined the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) during college and was given the opportunity to fly in a T-37, a twin-engine jet trainer. That’s when everything changed, having command of a plane, she knew that’s what she wanted to do. Persistence was Theresa’s best too and in 1981, she was commissioned as a second lieutenant and went on to become the first Black woman to fly in the US Air Force the following year. In 1990, she joined United Airlines as a flight officer. At five feet, two inches, Claiborne was two inches shorter than the height required to fly commercial aircraft at other airlines at the time, but she would go on to be a United Airlines captain. Yesterday, Captain Theresa Claiborne landed her “final flight” at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey after traveling from Lisbon, Portugal, with her friends and family in tow. Thank you for inspiring others, congratulations on your retirement and THANK YOU for your service.