PATUXENT RIVER NAVAL AIR STATION, MD – On May 30, 2023, for the first time in NAS Patuxent River’s 80-year history, its Air Traffic Control Facility (ATCF) was completely staffed by women. The Air Traffic Controllers (ACs) served in nine watch stations between the NAS Pax River Air Traffic Control Tower, Radar Operations, and Flight Planning. NAS Patuxent River is a Class IV Facility and is considered one of the most complex ATCFs in the Navy’s AC community. The NAS Pax River control tower works in excess of 40,000 flight operations per year, and its RADAR operations control over 6,000-square-miles of airspace including the Special Use Airspace complex and provides approach control service to 14 additional airports. “We call getting fully qualified at PAX equivalent to earning your Ph. D. in Air Traffic Control,” said ACC Kristen Costlow, NAS Patuxent River Air Traffic Control Training Chief. “In order to become fully qualified here at PAX, you have