Nicole Malachowski Oral History

title:

Nicole Malachowski Oral History

creator:

Malachowski, Nicole "Fifi" (Ellingwood) (1974 September 26 - )

subject:

US Air Force Academy (USAFA) | Air Force

description:

Nicole “Fifi” Malachowski (Ellingwood) was born on September 26, 1974 in Santa Maria, California. She wanted to be an Air Force fighter pilot since she was 5 years old. As a teenager, she was part of the Civil Air Patrol and won a scholarship from the Navy to pay for her flight lessons. She finished high school in Las Vegas, Nevada. She was close to Nellis Air Force Base and was exposed to the fighter planes and squadrons. She soloed her first aircraft, a Cesena, in Las Vegas. She graduated 4th in her class from the Air Force Academy in 1996 with a degree in business administration and a minor in French. Her undergraduate pilot training was at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. She did her F-15E formal training at the 33rd Fighter Squadron at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina. From January 1999 to October 2000, she was an F-15E pilot as part of the 492nd Fighter Squadron, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England. She did her first combat mission in 1999 at the end of Operation Allied Forces. From October 2000 to January 2003, she was an F-15E Instructor pilot. From January 2003 to January 2004 she was an Army Liaison Officer in 604th Air Support Operations Squadron, Camp Red Cloud, South Korea. In 2004, she returned to the F-15E instructor role at RAF Lakenheath, England. In 2003-2004, she supported Operation Iraqi Freedom with close air support, flying F-15s. At the time of the interview in 2006, she was a Lt. Col in the Air Force. She was the first woman to fly in the Air Force Thunderbirds in the No. 3 right wing position, flying F-16 thunderbirds. Her call sign was "Fifi." She has earned the Meritous Service Medal, Air Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Air Force Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters, and the National Defense Service Medal, and she was inducted into the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame in 2008. No transcript of this interview is currently available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Reborchick, Marcy

date:

2007-05-26

type:

Moving Image

format:

MiniDV

identifier:

595; 2007.595

source:

CLIR - Recordings at Risk

language:

English

relation:

555804

coverage:

Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq)—2003-2011 | 1992-1996 | 1996-2017

rights:

Unrestricted