Quelltext der Seite Benutzer:MBurch/Caroline Aigle

{{Importartikel}}

{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix  = 
| name              = Caroline Aigle
| honorific_suffix  = 
| native_name       = 
| native_name_lang  = 
| image         = Caroline Aigle.JPG
| image_size    = 
| alt           = 
| caption       = 
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1974|09|12|df=yes}}
| death_date    = {{death date and age|2007|08|21|1974|09|12|df=yes}}
| birth_place   = [[Montauban]], [[France]]
| death_place   = 
| placeofburial = 
| placeofburial_label = 
| placeofburial_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} -->
| nickname      = 
| birth_name    = 
| allegiance    = {{flag|France}}
| branch        = [[File:French-roundel.svg|23px]] [[French Air Force]]
| serviceyears  = 2000-2007
| rank          = [[File:French Air Force-commandant.svg|20px]] [[Commandant (rank)#France|Commandant]]
| servicenumber = <!--Do not use data from primary sources such as service records.-->
| unit          = 2/2 Squadron
| commands      = 
| battles       = 
| battles_label = 
| awards        =
| spouse        = <!-- Add spouse if reliably sourced --> 
| relations     =
| laterwork     = 
| signature     = 
| website       = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
}}
[[Commandant (rank)#France|Commandant]] '''Caroline Aigle''' (12 September 1974 – 21 August 2007) was a [[France|French]] [[aviator]] who achieved a historical first when, at the age of 25, she became the first woman [[fighter pilot]] in the [[French Air Force]]. Her promising military career was cut short by death from cancer seven years later. She was posthumously awarded the ''[[Médaille de l'Aéronautique]]'' ([[Aeronautics]] Medal).  

==Background==
Born in [[Montauban]], Aigle spent her early years in [[Africa]], where her father served as a military physician. After reaching her fourteenth birthday, she matriculated at the [[Lycée militaire de Saint-Cyr]] ([[Saint-Cyr-l'École|Saint-Cyr]] Military High School), remaining for the three-year period from the second term until graduation.<ref name="catholicnewsagency">{{citenews|title=From fighter pilot to courageous mother: the story of Caroline Aigle|url=http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/from_fighter_pilot_to_courageous_mother_the_story_of_caroline_aigle/|publisher=[[Catholic News Agency]]|date=26 September 2007}}</ref> She subsequently proceeded to [[Prytanée National Militaire|Prytanée Militaire]], an advanced military high school, and then to the military academy wing of the prestigious [[École Polytechnique]], France's foremost school of engineering. During her first year (1994–95), she fulfilled the requirements of her military duty while stationed with the [http://www.bca13.terre.defense.gouv.fr/index.php?page=Visite 13th Battalion] of the elite mountain infantry, the [[Chasseurs Alpins]]. She served her final year before graduation from the Polytechnique (1996–97) in the [[École de l'Air]], the [[French Air Force]]'s officer candidate school.

==Career==
After graduating from the Polytechnique, Aigle chose to join the [[French Air Force]]. On 28 May 1999, she became the first woman to receive the Air Force's coveted [[fighter pilot]] wings. She was assigned to the [[Dassault Mirage 2000|Mirage 2000-5]] in the [[:fr:Escadron de chasse 2/2 Côte-d'Or|escadron 2/2]] "[[Côte-d'Or]]" in 2000, and promoted to the rank of Commandant (roughly equivalent to [[Major]]) in 2005. Among the top candidates, she was also on the verge of being selected as an astronaut for the [[European Space Agency]]. By the time of her sudden death three weeks before her 33rd birthday (the cancer, a [[melanoma]], had been diagnosed only a month earlier), she had accumulated a total of 1600 hours of flight time.

Aigle was a keen athlete and represented the Air Force in inter-service sports competitions. She was the 1997 French military champion in [[triathlon]], followed by the 1997 triathlon world championship in military team competition.<ref>{{citenews|title=Adieu à une princesse de l'armée de l'air|url=http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2007/09/06/16285-adieu-a-une-princesse-de-l-armee-de-l-air.html|publisher=[[La Dépêche du Midi]]|date=6 September 2007|language=French}}</ref> Still competing in 1999, she and her team won the triathlon world military vice-championship. She was also a [[skydiver]] and [[Free-fall#Record free fall|free-fall]] parachutist.

==Death==
Aigle was pregnant when she was first diagnosed with rapidly progressing cancer, and refused to undergo an abortion despite the increased difficulty in cancer treatment options.<ref name="catholicnewsagency"/> Her son Gabriel was delivered by [[caesarean section]], five-and-a half months into term, fifteen days before her death on 21 August 2007. She and her husband already had one other child.<ref>{{citenews|title=Courage. Elle sauve son bébé avant de mourir|url=http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2007/09/06/14625-courage-elle-sauve-son-bebe-avant-de-mourir.html|publisher=[[La Dépêche du Midi]]|date=6 September 2007|language=French}}</ref>

On 2 October 2007, [[Nicolas Sarkozy|President Sarkozy]] posthumously awarded her the Médaille de l'Aéronautique ([[Aeronautics]] Medal).

==Personal Life==
Aigle was married to Christophe "Douky" Deketelaere (born 27 September 1964), a former Air Force fighter pilot and deputy leader of the [[Breitling Jet Team]]. They had two sons, Marc and Gabriel.

==References==
{{reflist}}

*[http://www.aufeminin.com/carriere/parcours/carolineaigle/carolineaigle1.asp A brief magazine interview {in French} with Caroline Aigle]
*[http://www.airexpo.org/fr/index.php?rub=presentations&id=4 Caroline Aigle biographical details {in French}]
*[http://www.date-naissance.info/caroline-aigle-3389.html Caroline Aigle identity card {in French} with date and place of birth]
*[http://www.apache-roll.com/2005/07/scoop.html Announcement {in French} of the birth of Caroline Aigle's and "Douky" Deketelaere's son Marc on] 12 July 2005
*[http://armee-de-lair.over-blog.fr/article-12050114.html Text of the eulogy delivered at Caroline Aigle's funeral mass (in French)]

==External links==
{{Commons|Category:Caroline Aigle}}
*[http://secret-de-femme.com/ manucure montpellier]
*[http://perso.orange.fr/coldo/Anciens/Devenus/CarolineAigle.htm Biographical sketch of Caroline Aigle {in French} with two photographs]
*[http://galliawatch.blogspot.com/2007/08/caroline-aigle.html The death of Caroline Aigle mentioned in an English-language notice of] 25 August 2007

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aigle, Caroline}}
[[:Kategorie:École Polytechnique alumni]]
[[:Kategorie:French aerospace engineers]]
[[:Kategorie:French Air Force personnel]]
[[:Kategorie:People from Montauban]]
[[:Kategorie:Deaths from skin cancer]]
[[:Kategorie:1974 births]]
[[:Kategorie:2007 deaths]]
[[:Kategorie:Women in war in France]]
[[:Kategorie:Recipients of the Aeronautical Medal]]
[[:Kategorie:Deaths from cancer in France]]
[[:Kategorie:Female military personnel]]
[[:Kategorie:École de l'air alumni]]