[5] Following designation as a naval aviator, she received orders to fly EA-6A Prowlers with Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 33 (VAQ-33) at NAS Key West, Florida.

[1] Upon completion of the VF-124 Category I fleet replacement pilot syllabus, she was assigned to the Black Lions of Fighter Squadron 213 (VF-213) and began preparations for deployment to the Persian Gulf.

[citation needed] Her call signs were "Hulk" or "She-Hulk", for her ability to bench press 200 pounds (91 kg), her 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) frame,[1] and a play on her surname.

[citation needed] The F-14A lost in the crash, BuNo 160390, was one of the two aircraft involved in the Gulf of Sidra incident of 1981, when it was previously assigned to Fighter Squadron 41 (VFA-41) at NAS Oceana, Virginia, and embarked with Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8) aboard USS Nimitz.

The tape shows an overshooting turn onto final, then apparent engine failure, followed by an audible wave-off and gear-up command from the landing signal officer.

[citation needed] Hultgreen's death has been used by critics who oppose women flying combat aircraft, and who believe the Navy has put political considerations ahead of safety and morale.

[10] A fellow F-14 pilot, Francesco "Paco" Chierici, would later say that "the treatment [Hultgreen] received after her death has always stayed with me as one of the greatest injustices witnessed during my naval career," and that her squadron's executive officer crashed in a flight simulator 97 percent of the time when faced with similar problems.