Black History Month: Cpt. Remoshay "Mesha/Thunderbird 12" Nelson
The first Black woman officer in the US Air Force Thunderbirds
#BlackHistoryMonth Captain Remoshay "Mesha/Thunderbird 12" Nelson is the first Black woman officer in the US Air Force's air demonstration squadron Thunderbirds. She serves as the team's Public Affairs Officer. A Howard University graduate from Atlanta Georgia, Nelson entered the Air Force in 2011 with a Reserve Officer Training Corps commission from Howard University. She served as a diversity recruiter in the Gold Bar Program before completing the public affairs qualification course at Fort Meade, Maryland. Following training, she was assigned to the 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, as the chief of media operations. Nelson then served in public affairs assignments in Turkey, Botswana and various locations in Europe. Prior to joining the Thunderbirds, she was the Chief of Public Affairs, 8th Fighter Wing, Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea.
Nelson’s position is a highly selective one. She is only one of 12 Thunderbird officers. Since the team’s inception in 1953, only 332 officers have made the cut.
The USAF Thunderbirds are the third-oldest formal flying aerobatic team (under the same name) in the world, after the French Air Force Patrouille de France formed in 1931 and the United States Navy Blue Angels formed in 1946. The squadron's name is taken from the legendary creature that appears in the mythologies of several indigenous North American cultures.
