Brig.-Gen. Amanda Azubuike
Brig.-Gen. Amanda Azubuike being decorated with her new rank.
By Geofrey Kerry
A 57-year-old Nigerian woman, Amanda Azubuike, has made history becoming the first black female to be decorated as a Brigadier General in the U.S. Army.
Her remarkable journey has become a source of inspiration for women worldwide, especially as black women continue to make strides in military leadership.
Born in London, United Kingdom, Azubuike is of Nigerian and Zimbabwean descent.
Her father, of Igbo origin, moved to the UK at a young age to study law, where he met her mother, a nursing student from Zimbabwe.
Following the end of her parents’ marriage, her mother relocated to the United States with Amanda and her sister, where Amanda eventually became a U.S. citizen in April 1989.
Azubuike’s military aspirations began at the age of 17 when she joined the Air Force Junior ROTC while attending Jacksonville High School.
This early experience laid the foundation for a distinguished career.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Central Arkansas in December 1993.
Azubuike joined the Army in 1994 as an aviator after completing the Army Aviation Officer Basic Course.
Her career took off when she graduated from flight school as a UH-1 pilot.
She then began her military service at Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia, where she served as a platoon leader with the 924th Aviation Support Battalion.
Brig.-Gen. Azubuike later joined the 3rd Military Intelligence Battalion (Aerial Exploitation) in South Korea as an Operations Officer and RC-12 pilot.
This was sequel to her completion of the Military Intelligence Captain’s Career and Fixed Wing Multi-Engine Qualification courses.