To be a cohesive team, the personalities have to gel. But, Higgins said, it is important not to push to select someone simply because they are female. The investigation found relatively few problems during McWherter’s first stint as commander but said he encouraged a “sexually charged” workplace from 2011 to 2012. The unit is the second oldest formal aerobatic team (under the same name) in the world, after the French Patrouille de France formed in 1931. Marine Corps aviator and veteran of Afghanistan, Major Katie Higgins Cook became the first female pilot with the famed Blue Angels. Pilots kept binoculars in their jets to ogle bikini-wearing women in air show crowds. Selecting someone because they are female (or any minority for that matter) would only lend credence to the naysayers," she said. The team has a female supply officer and selected a female public information officer to serve in 2020, he said. Gregory McWherter, who served as commander of the Blue Angels in two stints between 2008 and 2012, was found guilty after a disciplinary hearing Monday, the Navy announced. "Team members spend 300 days out of the year with each other. "We make our selections based on content of character, fleet experience, consistency of record and outstanding performance in the fleet as well as other requirements that are consistent with our squadron standards," he said. Experts say there are good reasons a woman hasn't been chosen for the exclusive group of Navy and Marine Corps aviators. And, she said, it will also be exciting when a woman is chosen as a Blue Angels pilot. The Navy’s investigative report was unsparing in criticizing his leadership after it found repeated evidence of raunchy locker-room antics. "Trust me, if I thought there was some giant conspiracy to keep women out of the jet demonstration, I would be the first person screaming it from the rooftops," said Marine Maj. Katie Higgins Cook, who was the first female pilot to fly the Blue Angels' C-130 Fat Albert cargo aircraft. No female pilot has ever flown as a member of the Blue Angels, although the team has had numerous women serve in support roles. “He failed himself, failed those that he led, failed the Blue Angels, and failed the Navy.”McWherter declined to comment through a Navy spokesman. "It will be a very big deal when a woman is selected for the Blue Angels," she said.
Commander Greg McWherter (Head of the Blue Angels) Lieutenant James Tomaszeski Lieutenant Robert Kurrle Jr Major Chris Collins USMC Lieutenant Commander Frank Weisser Lieutenant Ben … Katie Higgins talks about her experiences flying Fat Albert and being a member of the Blue Angels during a press conference Thursday morning. Blue Angels flying is unique from other fighter jet flying.Although the team is expected to switch from the F/A-18 Hornet to the Super Hornet in 2021, the team has said pilots will continue to fly without anti-gravitational suits and with a 40-pound spring attached to a flight stick.

David Gardner, spokesman for the Blue Angels, said gender did not play a part in selection of the team's officers. The report didn’t specify who supplied the watches.McWherter, whose pilot call sign was “Stiffy,” formerly had a cherished reputation in the Navy.
The six F/A-18 Hornets often fly within inches of each other. A Navy spokesman said some former Blue Angels personnel received “formal written counseling” as a “non-punitive measure” but declined to say how many.Several witnesses told Navy investigators that they saw nothing improper with the Blue Angels’ culture and defended McWherter’s leadership. Sheridan also pointed to recent change-of-command ceremony at Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Milton in which a female helicopter training squadron commander handed over command to another female command for the first time in the history of the squadron. The spring is added to the team's jets because it allows for very precise movements of the aircraft. Cmdr. The Blue Angels' McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornets (numbered 1–6) are currently flown by five Navy demonstration pilots and one Marine Corps demonstration pilot. Sheridan, who also flies AC-130s at Hurlburt Field Air Force Special Operations Command, noted that women have been part of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds flight demonstration squadron since 2006. "I got the flying bug as a little girl going to air shows and I know it is important to have women represented," she said. The team believes the right female candidate will be part of the squadron eventually, but it is a matter of everything aligning, he said. It isn't a matter of if, it is a matter of when." He was relieved of command in April from his job as executive officer of Naval Base Coronado near San Diego and was temporarily reassigned to other duties pending the outcome of the investigation.The Blue Angels perform thrilling maneuvers at air shows across the country and have iconic status in the Navy, for which they are a key recruiting tool.The Navy opened its investigation in March after receiving a complaint from a former member of the Blue Angels, alleging sexual harassment and other problems under McWherter’s watch.The report redacted the name of the complainant. The team has a waiver from the Department of Defense for these changes. Crew members for a time were allowed to buy custom-made Breitling watches at a cut-rate price of $500 — a fraction of their retail cost. The complainant cited the remark, along with similar jokes and comments, as evidence of sex discrimination. Katie Higgins, the first female pilot with the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, or Blue Angels, speaks with media aboard Marine Corps Air Station, April 9, 2015.