For the Air Force, it’s nothing new.

Women in Combat By Amy McCullough, News Editor

30 AIR FORCE Magazine / August 2013 in Combat AIR FORCE Magazine Magazine FORCE AIR / August 2013 August / placing explosive charges around a totaled C-130. C-130. totaled a around charges explosive after cord placing detonation a prepare Oghe Stephen SSgt. and (l) Pate Kimberly SrA. from operating on the front lines. lines. front the on operating from the rescinding memorandum women a prohibited 1994 rule, direct which ground combat exclusion supposedly signed Staff, of Chiefs Joint the of Chairman Americans.” fellow their defend to die to fi to yes, ness and, ght willing- their proven of combat, reality the as faced “have they patriotism” and mission.” our perform an to become ability our have of part they integral that is of fact battlefiThe number the eld. off growing and a on in roles serving critical to “They’re roles continued, more up He open combat. to in plans women announced he as January in Secretary Panetta E. then-Defense Leon said nation,” the defending of mission military’s the have Women clear: is thing combat. in One capable proved blurred. become have lines front the wars, action. in wounded been have more Twenty-three began. Afghanistan and M During During that same Jan. 24 briefi ng, Panetta and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, skill and courage “demonstrated have members service female said Panetta to ways unprecedented in contributing are women that us of all to clear “It’s counterinsurgency simultaneous fi two of ghting decade a than more After Iraq in sacrifi wars the ultimate since ce the made have airmen female Three fl bombs. drop fi y and jets ghter They care as to troops. bullets medical they wounded provide time they diffuse an explosive device. improvised They dodge down convoys lead dirt dangerous Afghanistan’s roads. women They risk their lives These every force. the of percent 15 ore

than 200,000 women serve in the US military—roughly serve in women the than 200,000 US military—roughly 31

USAF photo by TSgt. Jeffrey Allen Expanding Roles for Women in the Air Force

Aug. 5, 1943 - The Women’s Auxiliary Ferry Squadron (WAFS), comprising women flyers with commercial licenses, is merged with the Women’s Flying Training Detachment, which had been formed to recruit and train women pilots for ferrying duties. The new organization, the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), is led by famed aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran.

Feb. 29, 1968 - Jeanne M. Holm, di- rector of Women’s Air Force, and Helen O’Day, assigned to the Office of the Air Force Chief of Staff, become the first SSgt. Tamara Rhone, a crew chief, women promoted to permanent colonel. watches as Maj. Christine Mau, an F-15 Jacqueline Cochran pilot, and Capt. Jennifer Morton, an F-15 weapons system officer, don their July 1, 1968 - The first WAF in the Air National Guard is sworn in as a helmets before takeoff from a base in result of passage of Public Law 90-130, which allows ANG to enlist women. Afghanistan.

May 5, 1970 - The Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps admits women Dempsey said the burden now falls on after test programs at Ohio State, Auburn University, Drake University, and each of the services to demonstrate why East Carolina University prove successful. a woman should not serve in a particular specialty. “I don’t know how all that’s March 2, 1971 - A new policy allows Air Force women who become preg- going to sort out, but I’m really eager to nant to request a waiver to remain on Active Duty or to be discharged and begin the journey,” he added. return to duty within 12 months of discharge. On May 15, each of the four services submitted an implementation plan to March 8, 1971 - Capt. Marcelite C. Jordan becomes the first female aircraft Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel detailing maintenance officer after completion of the Aircraft Maintenance Officer’s how they planned to more fully integrate School. She was previously an administrative officer. women into the remaining combat roles. The plans, which were reviewed by Hagel March 17, 1971 - Jane Leslie Holley, from Auburn University, Ala., becomes and Dempsey before their release on June the first woman commissioned through Air Force ROTC. 18, outline a path to a fully integrated force. Even the most elite positions are expected July 16, 1971 - Jeanne M. Holm becomes the first female general officer to open to females in the coming years, in the Air Force. including all seven remaining Air Force specialty career fields, Army Rangers, and June 28, 1976 - The Air Force Academy becomes the first of the big three the Navy SEALs, said Pentagon leaders service academies to admit women cadets when it admits Joan Olsen. at the June news briefing announcing the plan’s release. March 23, 1978 - Capt. Sandra M. Scott becomes the first female aircrew “The department’s goal is to ensure member to pull alert duty in Strategic Air Command. the mission is met with the best, most fully qualified, and most capable people May 28, 1980 - The Air Force Academy graduates its first female cadets. Ninety-seven women are commissioned as second lieutenants. Lt. Kathleen Conley graduates eighth in her class.

May 9, 1983 - A C-141 crew from the 18th Military Airlift Squadron, McGuire AFB, N.J., becomes USAF’s first all-female crew to fly a round-trip mission across the Atlantic.

Oct. 5–13, 1984 - On the 13th space shuttle mission, Challenger lifts off for the first time with a crew of seven. Mis- NASA photo sion 41-G is the first to have two female astronauts, Sally K. Ride and Kathryn D. Sullivan (who became the first American woman to make a spacewalk).

Kathryn Sullivan and Sally Ride

32 AIR FORCE Magazine / August 2013 USAF photo by SrA. Sheila Devera USAF photo TSgt.by RussellWicke

regardless of gender,” said Juliet Beyler, the Pentagon’s director of officer and enlisted personnel management, at the briefing. The Army and Marine Corps will be most impacted by the change considering the majority of infantry and artillery posi- tions are closed to females. The Navy, on the other hand, has slowly been integrat- ing women into its submarine fleet and other previously closed positions for the last few years. As of June, 88 percent of its force was fully integrated, said Rear Adm. Anthony M. Kurta, director of Navy military personnel plans and policy, during the briefing. Unlike the other services, most Air Force specialty codes already are open to women—special operations remains the sole exception.

Old News for USAF A1C Tiffany Buck, a security forces airman, watches for the approach of suspicious Because special tactics officers, combat vehicles at Echo One, the main gate at Sather AB, Iraq, in 2007. control, and special operations weathermen and officers—four of the seven positions The Air Force, however, will determine became the first female general officer in currently closed to female airmen—are the most appropriate way for opening the the Air Force. positioned under US Special Operations remaining positions still closed to women: By 1983, the Air Force had sent an all- Command, SOCOM will have the final combat rescue, pararescue, and tactical female airlift crew on a round-trip mission say on opening those career fields. That air command and control parties (TACP). across the Atlantic. Five years later, the Air equates to about 800 positions, said Brig. These Air Combat Command career fields Force began integrating male and female Gen. Gina M. Grosso, Air Force director of have both an SOF and non-special opera- crews in Minuteman and Peacekeeper force management policy on the Air Staff. tions mission, said Grosso. ICBM launch facilities. All together, there are only about 4,700 Female airmen would continue to break

USAF photo by TSgt. Caycee Cook positions closed to female airmen today new ground throughout the rest of the late out of a Total Force of 506,000 people, ’80s into the mid-’90s, when in 1994 1st Grosso added. Lt. Jeannie M. Flynn would become the “The Air Force has been actively inte- first female fighter pilot in the Air Force. grating women into nontraditional skills” Flynn, now Col. Jeannie Leavitt, is cur- since the early 1970s, she said. “Today, less rently commander of the 4th Fighter Wing than one percent of all our positions—Ac- at Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.—another tive, Guard, and Reserves—are [closed] Air Force first, as she is the Air Force’s to women.” first female fighter wing commander. On March 17, 1971, Jane Leslie Hol- “Women have participated in combat ley, from Auburn University in Alabama, roles for more than 20 years and we became the first woman commissioned remain energized by the overall collec- through Air Force ROTC. Just four months tive progression,” Leavitt told Air Force later, on July 16, 1971, Jeanne M. Holm Magazine. “The Pentagon’s latest guidance

A1C Krysta Laird, a weapons loader, prepares an F-16 to take on munitions at Kan- dahar Airfield, Afghanistan.

AIR FORCE Magazine / August 2013 33 Jan. 1, 1988 - SAC changes its missile crew assignment policy to permit A Combat Medic on the Front Lines mixed male/female crews in Minuteman and Peacekeeper ICBM launch facilities. Sparks lit up the darkened interior of the June 10, 1989 - Capt. Jacquelyn S. Parker becomes the fi rst female pilot mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle to graduate from the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, Calif. as the rocket-propelled grenade pierced through the MRAP’s armored shell, striking Dec. 14, 1989 - MAC approves a policy change that allows female aircrew the empty seat across from SrA. Bryenna members to serve on C-130 and C-141 combat airdrop missions. L. Brooks. At the time, Brooks was attached to the April 28, 1993 - Secretary of Defense Les Aspin lifts the long-standing Army’s 59th Quartermaster Company, ban on female pilots fl ying US combat aircraft, including Army and Marine 142nd Combat Sustainment Support Bat- Corps attack helicopters. talion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, based out of Bagram Airfi eld, Afghanistan. She Aug. 6, 1993 - Sheila E. Widnall, associate provost and professor of had arrived in theater in November 2010 aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and only had about two weeks left in her becomes Secretary of the Air Force. Widnall is the fi rst female Secretary for deployment. any of the armed services. While in Afghanistan, Brooks was the lone combat medic on more than 25 sup- Feb. 10, 1994 - Lt. Jeannie Flynn com- ply runs just like this. She traveled more pletes F-15E training, becoming the fi rst than 3,000 miles across Afghanistan’s female fi ghter pilot in the US Air Force. dangerous and poorly constructed roads and provided care to more than 1,000 Feb. 25, 2011 - USAF announces that personnel. 1st Lt. Candice Killian is the service’s The June 3, 2011, mission would not be USAF photo by SSgt. Brad Fallon fi rst female to qualify as a CV-22 tilt-rotor the same as all the rest, though. aircraft pilot. She is Osprey pilot No. 97. It was around 2 a.m. and “quite dark,” so Jeannie Flynn it was diffi cult to make out much other than June 1, 2012 - Col. Jeannie Leavitt becomes the Air Force’s fi rst female a few trees from the back of the convoy’s fi ghter wing commander when she takes command of the 4th Fighter Wing tail vehicle, where Brooks sat. She felt the at Seymour Johnson AFB, S.C. She is an F-15E Strike Eagle pilot with more MRAP come to a halt after it got a fl at tire. than 2,500 hours, including 300 combat hours. In early 2011, Ghazni was a volatile province. US forces had successfully taken June 5, 2012 - Gen. Janet C. Wolfen- control of several parts that were formerly barger—the Air Force’s fi rst female four-star under Taliban control, but insurgents who general—assumes command of Air Force had crossed the border from Pakistan into Materiel Command, headquartered at Wright- eastern Afghanistan continued to fi ght Patterson AFB, Ohio. back. Brooks was unsure whether the fl at tire was coincidence or if it was deliberate

Jan. 24, 2013 - Pentagon offi cials announce USAF photo Berenger Todd by and intended to make them sitting ducks for plans to open more combat roles to women in the upcoming attack (though she suspected the military. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that might have been a factor). and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army She did know, however, that the soldiers Gen. Martin Dempsey sign an offi cial memoran- she was with remained on alert. As the dum rescinding the 1994 direct ground combat team sat there, Brooks noticed several exclusion rule for women. fl ashing lights in the town just outside Ghazni, through which the convoy had just passed. Janet Wolfenbarger “I guess they were signaling to each other,” said Brooks, because a few min- utes later the convoy came under attack by small-arms fi re. Just as her vehicle’s is another step in erasing the gender and Bennet S. Sacolick, SOCOM’s director of gunner began shooting back, their vehicle social barriers our military held in years force management and development, said was struck by the RPG. past. Opening positions to a wider pool the command will spend the next year col- The nauseating smell of burning copper of skilled personnel provides a greater lecting and analyzing data before making from the RPG made it diffi cult to breathe, as range of qualifi ed airmen from which to its recommendations to the Defense Sec- draw and ensures we put the most capable retary by July 1, 2015. Special operations person in a position, regardless of gender.” leaders have some “genuine concerns” that ronments for extended periods of time,” “However, any change will eventually must fi rst be addressed, he said. said Sacolick. SOCOM’s subordinate force a cultural shift in the mindset of the “Of particular concern is our mission set, commands are “reviewing every single force,” Leavitt noted. which predominantely requires our forces task in each of our entry-level qualifi cation Of all the military leaders sitting at the to operate in small, self-contained teams, courses to ensure that they are decisively June 18 briefi ng, those from SOCOM had many of which are in austere, geographi- tied to an operational requirement.” This the most reservations. Army Maj. Gen. cally isolated, politically sensitive envi- also will include a thorough review of 34 AIR FORCE Magazine / August 2013 A Combat Medic on the Front Lines

the vehicle quickly fi lled with smoke. Shrapnel had sliced Brooks’ chin, her left arm, and her leg—but she didn’t have time to think about that. Although she was still unsure exactly what had struck the vehicle, she knew her comrades needed medical attention. Brooks honed in on her medical bag, which had been placed on the empty seat about a foot away from her. She reached out, but what she found didn’t do much to calm her nerves. There was a huge hole where the RPG had hit and most of the medical supplies were ruined. “I could move my arm, but I guess I was more just in shock. I tried to stand up, but I really wasn’t able to,” said Brooks. Wounded, and with very little gear, she began to assess the situation. The assistant gunner, who was sitting in the back with her, had shrapnel in his legs and his face was bloody from a gash on his lip. The gunner had sprained his ankle as to continue on despite the RPG attack, Badge, an Air Force Combat Action he ducked down to avoid the incoming she said. Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, RPG and also had shrapnel in his legs. They were still too far away from Ba- and a Joint Service Commendation The driver had shrapnel in his arm. gram, so they rerouted to COP Sayed Medal. She also was named one of the Only the truck commander escaped the Abad—a small, remote combat outpost Air Force Association’s 12 Outstanding initial onslaught without injury. Brooks 45 miles south of Kabul. It took about 15 Airmen of the Year for 2012. said the team was fortunate because, minutes for the convoy to make its way She is described by most as “one of despite the RPG hit, all the crew’s wounds through Afghanistan’s bumpy, dirt roads. the most humble, kind, caring, and nic- were “relatively minor.” When it pulled up to Sayed Abad’s clinic, est people,” said Col. Paul M. Fortunato, Outside, small-arms fi re continued to Brooks and the three wounded soldiers commander of the 2nd Medical Group rain down on the convoy, leaving no es- were put on stretchers and taken inside at Barksdale AFB, La., where Brooks is cape from the suffocating smoke inside. for evaluation. now assigned. “Because of the injuries there wasn’t a The doctors removed some shrapnel Brooks is “the poster child for our Air whole lot I could do,” said Brooks. So she from her chin and stitched up the wound, Force core values,” said Fortunato. “She focused on making sure everyone stayed but there were too many tiny pieces takes the high road all of the time, do- calm. “That was a big thing, especially embedded in her left arm and leg, which ing the right thing for the right reason.” with all the smoke in the vehicle. It was were nearest the blast. Some of those Fortunato said what struck him most really hard to breathe.” pieces would eventually work their way about Brooks was her willingness to put To keep their minds off the suffocating out of her body on her own, she said, herself back in harm’s way. Today she smoke, they asked each other questions while others would serve as a constant is essentially recovered, though her left about “how much pain [they were] in, reminder of her fi rst deployment. arm is sometimes still numb from nerve how they were doing, what was going A few minutes later an Army Black damage suffered in the attack. Brooks on.” Just maintaining that communication Hawk arrived to evacuate all four to For- said it doesn’t affect her ability to do her helped keep everyone’s nerves under ward Operating Base Shank in eastern daily job, though. control, she said. Afghanistan’s Logar province. They would “I was so impressed with her before The vehicle had caught fi re in the be treated for the rest of their wounds and she deployed, but even more after she attack and the convoy restarted, but then sent to a traumatic brain injury clinic returned,” commented Fortunato. “What had to stop momentarily for a second for further evaluation. I remember distinctly was that she said time so the wrecker could put out the For her actions that day, Brooks received she would be happy to deploy again. fl ames. Thankfully, the MRAP was able the Purple Heart, a Combat Medical Amazing.”

“their organization, training, education, sible that in the very near future a single characteristic of our operators [is] intel- and leader development programs.” female commando could be assigned to lect. And when people fail in the Special SOCOM also has either commissioned a 12-member special operations team. Forces qualifi cation course, predominan- or is internally conducting multiple stud- “We’re looking for smart, qualifi ed tely, they fail because they’re not doing ies assessing the social and behavioral operators. You know, there’s just ... a their homework.” implications of integrating women into new dynamic. I mean, the days of Rambo SSgt. Kimberly Pate has been in the its small team structure. He said it is fea- are over,” said Sacolick. “The defi ning Air Force for more than eight years. She AIR FORCE Magazine / August 2013 35 Brooks traveled from one remote for- ward operating base to another during

USSAF photo her 205-day deployment and earned the Purple Heart for continuing to care for the wounded despite injuries she sustained during a rocket-propelled grenade attack on one mission. The Air Force’s implementation plan is focused on three major tasks, said Grosso. The first is to look at existing policies and procedures prohibiting women from certain positions. The Air Force will then begin updating those policies to be ready for a July 2015 implementation. The second step is to validate the tasks required for both men and women to go into these positions—something the Air Force typically does every five years. Grosso said the Air Force is not Above: Col. Jeannie Leavitt, USAF’s limiting this task to the seven remain- first female fighter pilot, in the cockpit of her F-15 at Seymour Johnson AFB, ing closed positions. “We’re doing 100 N.C., where she commands the 4th percent validation,” she said. Fighter Wing. Right: Brig. Gen. Gina “We’ve had these positions open to Grosso, director of force management women for a very long time. ... If you think policy, answers questions about open-

USAF photo by JimVarhegyi about an aircraft maintainer, if you look ing up the last few billets to women during a Pentagon briefing in June. at airplanes over time, they’ve become increasingly more and more sophisticated wanted a career field that was challenging and much more computer-driven,” said and made her feel like she was truly making Grosso. “So the skills that [maintainers] a difference. She chose explosive ordnance may have needed in the 1970s, and the disposal—generally a male occupation. strength, is very different than the skills Pate is the only female Active Duty and the strength they might need in 2013 EOD tech assigned to the 4th Civil En- for an F-22.” gineering Squadron at Seymour Johnson Grosso said the Air Force needs to AFB, N.C., and she previously served as understand “how much does the toolbox one of only three female airmen in the weigh 25 years later?” That’s part of the career field at Hill AFB, Utah. Pate says validation process—for both men and being a minority among her peers has women—that is slated for completion in forced her to work extra hard to prove 2015, she said. her capabilities. “The Air Force has a long history of “Especially going through the school- “A moment that stands out to me was successfully integrating women into house training, you’re surrounded by arriving at my first premission briefing. combat positions and doesn’t expect mostly male students and counterparts. As the medic, I was to address the group significant challenges as it completes You get stereotypical looks like you’re and explain my role,” said Brooks. “When preparations to integrate women into probably not going to make it,” she said. looking into the group, I realized not only additional combat roles,” said an Air “You can’t just squeak by on the require- was I the only Air Force member, but I Force spokeswoman. ments. You have to prove you deserve to was also the only female that would be “Opening positions to a wider group be there.” on this convoy mission.” of skilled personnel maximizes military Eventually, Pate said she did earn her She said at first she “sensed doubt” from capabilities, provides a greater pool of peers’ respect. the group as to her capabilities as a medic, qualified members from which to draw, “Once you have proven yourself you but over time “that sense of doubt changed.” and reduces the operational tempo for definitely get more respect because you Once they started calling her “doc,” she those currently deploying,” she con- can keep up and can do everything they knew she had earned their respect. cluded. can do,” she said. “They see you have to “To me, this was an honor that I can’t The goal is to begin recruiting for go through more trials and tribulations explain through words,” she said. “We the newly opened positions by Oct. 1, to get there and I do think they respect were a family: I knew they always had my 2015, and to start bringing women into you a little more after that.” back and I had theirs. While the official the pipeline by Oct. 1, 2016. However, SrA. Bryenna L. Brooks, an aerospace change to allow women to fill combat Grosso noted that each of the seven off- medical services technician assigned to roles happened almost two years later, I limits career fields under consideration Barksdale AFB, La., had a similar experi- could tell that me being a female made for women have long pipelines—between ence during her first combat deployment no difference in the minds of my fellow a year and 18 months each—so the Air to Afghanistan. soldiers. I was able to physically and Force does not expect to see women in While deployed, Brooks said she noticed mentally meet the challenges of the job, these operational units until Jan. 1, 2018, she was among a small group of females. and that’s what mattered.” at the earliest. n 36 AIR FORCE Magazine / August 2013