Lieutenant Colonel Olga E. Custodio (born 1953) is a former United States Air Force officer who became the first female Hispanic U.S. military pilot. She was the first Hispanic woman to complete U.S. Air Force military pilot training. Upon retiring from the military, she became the first female Hispanic commercial airline captain of American Airlines. Early years Custodio was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her father, a sergeant in the United States Army, was often stationed in various countries where the United States has its military installations. Custodio and the rest of the family would accompany him on his overseas assignments. Custodio began her primary education in Taiwan. She also attended schools in New Jersey, Iran and Paraguay. The family returned to Puerto Rico when she was 15 years old. She graduated high school at age 16, and was immediately accepted into the University of Puerto Rico. Custodio's father, and all the traveling she did at a young age, were key factors in her choice of career - she decided to join the military. While in college she attempted to join the university's ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps), but at the time only men were admitted into the program. Military career Custodio earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Puerto Rico and worked for various industries before landing a job in the accounting department of Prinair (Puerto Rico International Airlines). There she met Edwin Custodio, with whom she would eventually have two children. She later worked for the US Department of Defense (DoD) in Panama. With the support of her husband, she presented herself before Headquarters, Air Force Military Personnel Center (AFMPC) to apply for the United States Air Force Officer Training School. Upon admission, Custodio was accepted as a pilot candidate to become a United States Air Force pilot. She entered the Flight Screening Pilot Officer Training School in January 1980. After successful completion of Flight Screening she entered Officer Training School and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant. She qualified for Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas and graduated the following year, thus becoming the first Latina to complete the U.S. Air Force military pilot training. Her first military assignment was that of instructor pilot at Laughlin AFB. She was the first female to become a Northrop T-38 Talon (T-38) UPT flight instructor at that base. The T-38 Talon is