U.S. Marine Captain Satz first woman to pilot F-35B jet

U.S. Marine Captain Anneliese Satz

By LORI ANN EDMO
Sho-Ban News
FORT HALL — U.S. Marine Captain Anneliese Satz, Shoshone-Bannock, said she chose the Marines because she knew it would be the most physically demanding service and she wanted to be a part of the Marine Corps legacy.

She is the first woman to pilot an F-35B jet. The Fort Hall Business Council honored her and her husband Anthony Pompei, who is also a Marine pilot, in September of this year.

Satz said she commissioned with the Marine Corps in 2014 and received her wings in 2018 so it takes approximately three to four years to become a jet pilot depending on the delays in training. “We go through several schools on our way to get the fleet,” she said. The first is The Basic School (TBS) in Quantico, which is a six month school that all Marine officers take prior to entering their first job related school. From there it’s Aviation Preflight Indoctrination (API) for ground school then to Primary where they train in the T6-B. “Once we select to fly jets, we go to Intermediate and Advanced flight school and train in the T-45 Goshawk that can take a year and half to two years.

Satz piloting a jet.

Satz said after she selected F-35B, she went to the Fleet Replacement Squadron in Beaufort, S.C. to learn how to fly the F-35 and finally after that she arrived in Iwakuni, Japan to fly with the VMFA-121.

Since then, she’s deployed three times on the USS America with the 31st MEU in the Pacific Area of Operations, twice this year and once in 2020.

When the FHBC honored her and her husband she explained they are both stationed in Japan and will be there for a few years. They fly the F35 jets off of LHA and LHD ships that have enlarged hangar decks.

At the time, she said it’s a great job and “It’s an honor to be able to serve our country in that way — a fun and challenging way.”

The Osborne family is recognizing her during the annual Veterans breakfast.