Lt. Cmdr. Paige Blok participated in the first ever all-female flyover Feb. 2 in Maynardville, Tennessee. Officially referred to as a “Missing Man Flyover,” the tribute was part of the funeral service for retired Navy Captain Rosemary Mariner, who passed away on Jan. 24 following a long fight with cancer.
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| Blok, Bottom Right |
“I first told my parents I dreamed of serving in the military and becoming a fighter pilot around age eight,” Blok said. “I am immeasurably thankful and blessed to serve in this role and regard the pioneering women of Naval Aviation as foundational in making my dream a possibility. I had the great pleasure of meeting Capt. Rosemary Mariner at the Women in Aviation Conference and consider her a beacon of naval leadership.”
Blok graduated in 2007 from the United States Naval Academy with a degree in Oceanography. She earned her Wings of Gold in August 2009. In 2018, she was awarded a M.S. in Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering and an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She reported to the “Fighting Swordsmen” of VFA-32 in January of 2019 as a Department Head.
After completing flight training in 1974, Mariner was designated a naval aviator and received her Wings of Gold to became the Navy’s first female jet pilot, flying the A-4E/L “Skyhawk” and the A-7E “Corsair II”. She also was the first female military aviator to achieve command of an operational air squadron. During Operation Desert Storm, Mariner commanded Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron Thirty-Four (VAQ-34). In 1982, she reached yet another milestone by being among the first females to serve aboard a U.S. Navy warship, USS Lexington, and qualifying as a Surface Warfare Officer.
Mariner retired from the U.S. Navy in 1997 after obtaining the rank of Captain and logging seventeen carrier arrested landings, or “traps,” and completing over 3,500 flight hours in fifteen different aircraft.
The Missing Man Flyover is a special tribute honoring the service of aviators who have died serving their country. The maneuver features four aircraft flying above the funeral service in formation as one of the aircraft leaves the formation and climbs vertically into the heavens.
All of the aviators who participated in the flyover are from squadrons based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana flying F/A-18E/F “Super Hornets.”
Blok graduated in 2007 from the United States Naval Academy with a degree in Oceanography. She earned her Wings of Gold in August 2009. In 2018, she was awarded a M.S. in Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering and an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She reported to the “Fighting Swordsmen” of VFA-32 in January of 2019 as a Department Head.
After completing flight training in 1974, Mariner was designated a naval aviator and received her Wings of Gold to became the Navy’s first female jet pilot, flying the A-4E/L “Skyhawk” and the A-7E “Corsair II”. She also was the first female military aviator to achieve command of an operational air squadron. During Operation Desert Storm, Mariner commanded Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron Thirty-Four (VAQ-34). In 1982, she reached yet another milestone by being among the first females to serve aboard a U.S. Navy warship, USS Lexington, and qualifying as a Surface Warfare Officer.
Mariner retired from the U.S. Navy in 1997 after obtaining the rank of Captain and logging seventeen carrier arrested landings, or “traps,” and completing over 3,500 flight hours in fifteen different aircraft.
The Missing Man Flyover is a special tribute honoring the service of aviators who have died serving their country. The maneuver features four aircraft flying above the funeral service in formation as one of the aircraft leaves the formation and climbs vertically into the heavens.
All of the aviators who participated in the flyover are from squadrons based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana flying F/A-18E/F “Super Hornets.”