Honoring LTJG Judith Neuffer, USN

Lt. j.g. Judith “Judy” (Neuffer) Bruner became the first woman to fly solo in an aircraft and the first to become a P-3 Poseidon pilot in the Navy. One of the first women to qualify as a naval aviator in 1973, Neuffer logged several thousands of hours piloting the P-3. She was the first woman P-3 aircraft commander and the first woman to pilot an aircraft through the eye of a hurricane. She transferred to the Navy Reserve and continued her service as commanding officer of three units, and as the Navy’s Science and Technology Reserve Program director. She retired from the Navy in 1998 after 28 years of service. Bruner began her career at NASA in 1981, where she serves as the Director of the Goddard Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate (2021).