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NKyTrib, Notre Dame host public reception for Lt. Col. McGrath on Aviation Hall of Fame induction


Lt. Col. Amy McGrath

Lt. Col. Amy McGrath

Staff Report

Lt. Col. Amy McGrath Henderson, a 1993 graduate of Notre Dame Academy, is one of four individuals with outstanding careers in aviation and aerospace to be inducted into the Hall of Fame of the nonprofit Aviation Museum of Kentucky on November 12.

The Northern Kentucky Tribune in partnership with Notre Dame Academy will be hosting a celebration of her accomplishments with a special event on Monday, November 14.

It is free and open to the public and will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Notre Dame Academy’s Alumnae Hall.

Please RSVP to your invitation here — just so we know how many to plan for.

Click for larger view

Click for larger view

Thanks to sponsors Notre Dame Academy Alumnae, CVG, Republic Bank, Thomas More College and the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile Jr. US Bank Foundation for making the free admission possible. Students are welcome.

“We are so pleased to be able to honor Amy’s accomplishments,” said NKyTribune editor Judy Clabes. “She has certainly honored us with her bravery, her military career and her personal example. What a terrific role model she is — for all of us.”

McGrath Henderson became the first female Marine aviator to fly combat missions in the F/A-18 Hornet fighter over Afghanistan and Iraq.

A distinguished career

Upon graduation from Notre Dame Academy, McGrath received the superintendent’s appointment to Annapolis. After completing a bachelor’s degree in Political Science at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1997, she earned an M.A. in Global Security Studies at Johns Hopkins University and a Graduate Certificate in Legislative Studies from Georgetown University. She is a graduate of the Marine Amphibious Warfare School, Marine Fighter Weapons Division Tactics Course, and Marine Corps Command and Staff College. She currently is on the faculty at the U.S. Naval Academy.

As a midshipman, she was a member of the Naval Academy’s first varsity women’s soccer team in 1993 and was a three-year letter-winner. She was the Midshipman Director of NAFAC in her senior year.

She was featured in Band of Sisters: American Women at War in Iraq, published in 2007.

After her commissioning as a Marine Corps officer and completion of flight school in 1999, she was assigned as a F/A-18 Weapons Systems Officer to Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 121.

In 2002, Captain McGrath, deployed to Kyrgyzstan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom flying combat missions in Afghanistan. In 2003, she completed her second combat tour to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Deployment and distinction

From 2005-06, Capt. McGrath transitioned to become an F/A-18 pilot. In her second tour with 121, she completed a deployment to East Asia from 2007-09. In 2010, she deployed to Afghanistan with 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. While operational, she accrued over 2000 flight hours and flew 85+ combat missions. She has flown in multiple exercises in the continental U.S., Alaska, Egypt, Australia, Korea and Japan.

Her tent when she was based in Manas, Kyrgyzstan (former USSR). Coalition forces based there were from eight different countries.

Her tent when she was based in Manas, Kyrgyzstan (former USSR). Coalition forces based there were from eight different countries.

In 2011, Major McGrath was assigned to Capitol Hill as a Congressional Fellow. She worked in the office of Representative Susan Davis of San Diego as the congresswoman’s defense and foreign affairs policy advisor. From 2012-13, she served in the Pentagon at Headquarters Marine Corps, Strategy & Plans Division, International Affairs Branch as the Marine Corps’ liaison to other federal government agencies such as the Department of State and US Agency for International Development.

Her awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, (8) Strike Flight Air Medals, Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, and Iraqi and Afghan (2) Campaign medals.

More information about the November 12 induction ceremony and banquet is available at www.aviationky.org or 859-231-1219.

With the Northern Alliance, in Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. The Afghanis are holding up squadron stickers McGrath gave them. She showed them this picture on here digital camera after it was taken. They had never seen anything like it before.

With the Northern Alliance, in Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. The Afghanis are holding up squadron stickers McGrath gave them. She showed them this picture on her digital camera after it was taken. They had never seen anything like it before, she wrote.


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