About
Naval Aviator, Test Pilot, Military Professional, Speaker, and President of SPARTA
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BIO-SHORT
CDR Emily “Hawking” Shilling, based in Washington DC, is an accomplished Naval Aviator and Aerospace Engineering Duty Officer with NAVAIR. After graduating from the University of Colorado, she conducted critical combat missions from the USS Abraham Lincoln, receiving three Air Medals and a Distinguished Airmanship Award. A notable graduate of USNTPS and the Naval Postgraduate School, she has spearheaded various pivotal projects, including serving as Analysis of Alternatives User Lead for the Next Generation Air Dominance Naval Fighter, Deputy Program Manager for Next Generation Naval Mission Planning Systems (Continuum), and Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System. She is the most senior out transgender line officer and aviator in the United States Navy and made history in 2023 as the first transgender individual to regain Naval Flight Clearance for tactical jets. She is the President of SPARTA, where she provides peer support and education, and fights for trans-inclusive military service. She received the Out & Equal Corporate Advocate of the Year Award in 2022, and has recently joined their Board of Directors, where she proudly serves as the board’s singular voice representing LGBTQ+ communities within the government and military.
BIO-LONG
Emily “Hawking” Shilling is a Commander (CDR) in the United States Navy (USN), currently serving as an Aerospace Engineering Duty Officer, with NAVAIR in the Washington DC area. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering Sciences from the University of Colorado in 2005. Subsequently joining the Navy, she was winged in 2007 as a Naval Aviator. She went on to fly the EA-6B Prowler, EA-18G and F-18E/F. Operating off the USS Abraham Lincoln she conducted sixty (60) combat missions in support of operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn. For her actions she was awarded three Air Medals and the Order of Daedalians Distinguished Airmanship Award for superior airmanship during an emergency. Subsequently selected as a Test Pilot Candidate, she was ordered to the United States Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS) in Patuxent River Maryland.
CDR Shilling graduated with honors from USNTPS (Class 147) and received her Master of Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in 2015. She then served as an Electronic Attack Project Officer with Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Three (VX-23) where she conducted high risk test flights in support of the USN’s most advanced air combat systems to include the cutting-edge electromagnetic aircraft launch and recovery systems being installed in the latest generation of US Aircraft Carriers. Following the success of this tour she was selected as an Aerospace Engineering Duty Officer (AEDO) where she is now a Military Deputy Program Manager charged with developing and acquiring our nation’s next line of offensive and defensive air systems.
Her major efforts as a Systems Engineer have included engineering efforts on the Kepler Interplanetary Space Telescope, Analysis of Alternatives User Lead for the Next Generation Air Dominance Naval Fighter, Deputy Program Manager for Next Generation Naval Mission Planning Systems (Continuum), Deputy Program Manager for Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System, and program lead for various aspects of the forefront of Naval Aviation.
CDR Shilling is the senior trans-identifying Naval Aviator and Line Officer in the United States Navy. Transitioning in 2019 during a ban on trans-inclusive service, she has led the charge in normalizing that trans-identifying sailors, airmen, soldiers, marines, and guardians cannot only serve but thrive in their service. She was critical in challenging military assumptions and became the first transgender individual to regain her Naval Flight Clearance to fly high-performance tactical jets post-transition in Feb 2023. She continues to work to foster an inclusive environment for all warriors, advocate for trans excellence, and mentor all those who deserve to see themselves in their heroes.
She is currently the senior, actively serving, trans-identifying line officer in the USN and President of SPARTA, an organization that advocates and educates about transgender military service and is dedicated to the support and professional development of over 2000 transgender service members. Finally, she serves on the board of directors for Out & Equal (Workplace advocates) beginning in 2023.
Work Experience
- Unmanned Carrier Aviation (PMA-268) – (2023-Present)
- Naval Mission Planning and Strike Systems (PMA-281) – (2020-2023)
- Deputy Program Manager, LVL I
- Award:
- Meritorious Service Medal
- Out & Equal LGBTQ+ Corporate Advocate of the Year (2022)
- Mission Engineering and Design (4.0M NAVAIR) – (2017-2020)
- Project Manager, LVL III
- Award: Navy Commendation Medal
- Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Three (VX-23) – (2015-2017)
- Electronic Attack Project Officer
- Award:
- Navy Commendation Medal
- Navy and Marine Corp Achievement Medal
- United States Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS) – (2014-2015)
- Fixed Wing Student
- Award:
- Best Development Test Thesis
- Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) – (2013-2014)
- Systems Engineering Student, Master’s Degree
- Electronic Attack Squadron One Three One (VAQ-131) – (2009-2012)
- EA-6B Pilot
- Award:
- 3 x Air Medal
- 2 x Navy and Marine Corp Achievement Medal
- Deadalian Award for Superior Airmanship During an Emergency
- Electronic Attack Squadron One Two Nine (VAQ-129) – (2008-2009)
- Student
- United States Navy – (2005-2007)
- Student Naval Aviator
- Ball Aerospace – (2003-2005)
- Associate Engineer
- Colorado Space Grant Consortium – (2001-2003)
- Lead Student Engineer
- Award:
- Student of the Semester
- Best Research Project
Education
- Bachelor’s Degree – (2005)
- University of Colorado, Boulder
- Aerospace Engineering Sciences
- Master’s Degree – (2014)
- Naval Postgraduate School
- Systems Engineering
- Certified Naval Test Pilot – (2015)
- United States Naval Test Pilot School
- Professional Certification, Model-Based Systems Engineering (2017)
- MIT – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
FLIGHT EXPERIENCE
- TOTAL (Hours): 1714.0 (PIC: 1567.7)
- COMBAT (Hours): 350.9 (60 Missions)
- ARRESTED LANDINGS: 242 (137 Day / 105 Night)
Platform (Hours):
- EA-6B (1072.4)
- FA/EA-18E/F/G (158.2)
- T-45C (177.8)
- T-38C (46.8)
- 19 Others (261.3)
Qualifications:
- EA-6B NATOPS Instructor / Crew Resource Management Facilitator (NOV 2011, NOV 2015)
- PWTP Level III EA-6B Mission Commander / Section Lead Pilot (SEP 2011)
- Functional Check Flight Crewmember (JUN 2011)
- Surface to Air Counter Tactics Instructor (OCT 2011)
- Squadron Landing Signal Officer (2011)
Speeches & Panel Recordings
- NAVAIR TDOR 2023: Speaker for the dead
- DoD Pride Speech 2023: Thirty-One
- AiAA SciTech 2023 Women at SciTech Panel
In The News
- Winning with inclusion and respect: First transgender naval aviator regains flight status
- Pentagon Pride Month Speech Highlights Transgender Suicides in US Military
- Pentagon officials defend diversity and inclusion at Pride Month event
- AiAA Women at SciTech Panel: Leadership, Innovation, and Intersectionality (Video)
- Navy commander receives top award for LGBTQ+ advocacy – The Southern Maryland Chronicle commander receives top award for LGBTQ+ advocacy > United States Navy > News-Stories
- Navy commander receives top award for LGBTQ+ advocacy | NAVAIR
- 2022 Workplace Summit LGBTQ+ Corporate Advocate of the Year Outie Award | Out & Equal (outandequal.org)
- Emily Shilling (spartapride.org)
- Emily “Hawking” Shilling joins SPARTA Board as Membership Director (spartapride.org)
- With ban lifted, transgender service members free to figure out what comes next (nbcnews.com)
- Revealed: the trans military members living in fear under Trump’s ban | Transgender | The Guardian
- Lancer awarded Order of the Daedalians’ (kitsapsun.com)
