Michelle Curran (born 1987) is a veteran

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

(USAF)

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and a pilot in the

USAF Air Demonstration Squadron The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron is the air demonstration squadron of the United States Air Force The Thunderbirds, as they are popularly known, are assigned to the 57th Wing, and are based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Created in 1953 ...

, or Thunderbirds. Curran was the lead solo pilot for the Squadron. Curran is the fifth woman to fly with the Thunderbirds, her callsign (or nickname) is "MACE".

Early life

Curran was born in

Medford, Wisconsin Medford is a city and county seat of Taylor County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,349 at the 2020 census. The city is located mostly within the boundaries of the Medford (town), Wisconsin, Town of Medford. History Medford is lo ...

. She studied

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

at the University of St. Thomas and competed in a number of sports there. Curran was also active in

Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps The Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AFROTC) is one of the three primary commissioning sources for officers in the United States Air Force and United States Space Force, the other two being the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA ...

(AFROTC) at St. Thomas.

Air Force career

Curran began service in the

in 2009, earning a commission through the AFROTC. Her first two years with the USAF were spent in pilot training with the

14th Operations Group The 14th Operations Group is the flying component of the 14th Flying Training Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force's Air Education and Training Command. The group (military aviation unit), group is stationed at Columbus Air Force Base, ...

Columbus Air Force Base Columbus Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Columbus, Mississippi. The host unit at Columbus AFB is the 14th Flying Training Wing (14 FTW), which is a part of Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The resident ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. Her next year was spent as an

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...

student with the

308th Fighter Squadron The 308th Fighter Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit. It is part of the 56th Operations Group at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, where it trains aircrew, pilots on the Lockheed Martin F-35A. History World War II Initially establi ...

Luke Air Force Base Luke Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States., effective 20 December 2007 It is located west of the central business district of Glendale, Arizona, Glendale, and west of Phoenix, Arizona, P ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. Curran then spent three years at

Misawa Air Base is an air base of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), List of United States Air Force installations, the United States Air Force, and the United States Navy located in Misawa, Aomori, Misawa, Aomori Prefecture, Aomori, in the northern p ...

in northern

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Curran later worked for three years as an F-16 instructor in the

355th Fighter Squadron The 355th Fighter Squadron, nicknamed the ''Fightin' Falcons'', is a United States Air Force unit stationed at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. It is an active-duty unit assigned to the 354th Fighter Wing and operates the Lockheed Martin F- ...

NAS JRB Fort Worth Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth (abbreviated NAS JRB Fort Worth) includes Carswell Field, a military airbase located west of the central business district of Fort Worth, in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. This military a ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. She was the first woman to fly as part of the 335th FS. Curran joined the Thunderbirds in 2019 and left the team in December 2021, after serving a three-year tour on the team. Curran Served as the opposing solo pilot in 2019, and the lead solo pilot in 2020 and 2021, flying on the outer-left wing of the Delta formation of six F-16s. Major Curran was participating in the Operation America Strong flyovers the Thunderbirds did with the

Blue Angels The Blue Angels, formally named the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, are a Aerobatics, flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.. Blue Angels official site. Formed in 1946, the unit is the second oldest formal aerobatics ...

, the demonstration squadron of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Curran was the only female pilot flying with the squadron when she served, and the fifth female pilot in the squadron overall. Curran has logged over 1,500 total flight hours with the USAF. She served in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

for two months in 2016 as part of both

Operation Freedom's Sentinel Operation Freedom's Sentinel (OFS) was the official name used by the U.S. government for the mission succeeding Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in continuation of the War in Afghanistan as part of the larger Global War on Terrorism. Operation ...

and Operation Resolute Support, acquiring 163 combat hours.

Decorations

Curran's decorations as of 2020 were as follows:

Promotion dates

Books

* ''Upside Down Dreams'' (2023)

References

External links

macecurran.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curran, Michelle 1987 births Living people United States Air Force Thunderbirds pilots American women aviators United States Air Force officers Aviators from Wisconsin People from Medford, Wisconsin Military personnel from Wisconsin University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) alumni 21st-century American women