Forum: Off-topic

1Lt. Nicola Baumann, an instructor pilot with the 459th Flying Training Squadron, climbs into the cockpit of a PA-200 ECR Tornado in Germany in this undated photo. Baumann became just the second female fighter pilot in the history of the German Air Force back in 2007 after completing the Euro-Nato Joint Jet Pilot Training program at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas.

1Lt. Nicola Baumann, an instructor pilot at the 459th Flying Training Squadron in the Euro-Nato Joint Jet Pilot Training program at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, readies her PA-200 ECR Tornado for takeoff at a base in Bavaria, Germany

1Lt. Nicola Baumann, an instructor pilot with the 459th Flying Training Squadron, prepares for a PA-200 ECR Tornado flight in Germany

1Lt. Nicola Baumann, an instructor pilot with the 459th Flying Training Squadron, receives a pre-flight brief from a student Mar. 19, 2012 at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas

1Lt. Nicola Baumann, an instructor pilot with the 459th Flying Training Squadron, poses for a picture during an air show in Germany

1Lt. Nicola Baumann flying the German Air Force's PA-200 ECR Tornado in flight over Germany

Dreaming big earns German pilot distinction in her own right
3/28/2012 - SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Becoming a fighter pilot is tough, no matter what gender you are. Add in the history-making nature of trying to become one of your country's first female fighter pilots, the pressure can get ramped up in a hurry.
For 1st Lt. Nicola Baumann, an instructor pilot assigned to Sheppard's 459th Flying Training Squadron and only the second female to become a fighter pilot in the history of the German Air Force, it isn't about gender, but about living out your dream.
From the tender age of three when she flew on a plane for the first time, Baumann knew a career including flying was in her future.
Initially a flight path to Lufthansa, Germany's largest airline, seemed like the clear choice.
"I always thought if I was going to be a pilot, it would be for Lufthansa because the German Air Force wasn't open to women at that time," Baumann said. "Becoming a fighter pilot seemed like too big a dream."
The problem was there was just one requirement she could not meet in her quest to becoming a pilot for the commercial airlines.
"I had my mind set on Lufthansa until I was 15 or 16 and I realized I had stopped growing and I was only five foot, three inches, which is just too short for their personnel or company regulations," Baumann said. "So I gave up on it for awhile."
After letting the initial disappointment of not meeting the height requirement wear off, she ran into another pilot, who told her she could still fly and just needed to look around for different opportunities.
"I looked into all kinds of options and found out the German Air Force had just opened up to women and their (height) regulation was five feet three inches," Baumann said. "So I applied and it worked out."
With flying in the family DNA (her mom flew hang gliders and younger sister Nena is a pilot with Lufthansa), she still didn't tell her parents she applied for the military.
"I applied first without telling anyone," said Baumann. "I was afraid of my (parents) reaction because my mom despised the thought of me in the military."
In Germany, an individual initially applies to join the Air Force in a particular job position. Before actually joining the service, the individual knows whether or not they will receive the desired job and can decline entry into active duty if they do not.
Although her dad was surprised at her acceptance, Baumann, just 20 years old at the time and fresh out of high school, got ready for the long training road standing in front of anyone's pursuit of a fighter pilot career.
In 2004, Baumann officially entered the German Air Force, attending the GAF Academy, a one-year school focusing on officer training.
She then spent a year in academics to prepare her for pilot training. Courses like English training, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape and other technical training set her up for the 53 weeks of training at the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program at Sheppard and where she ultimately earned her wings.
At the end of the training cycle, Baumann landed in the 322nd Squadron in Bavaria, flying Tornados with Capt. Ulruie Flender, Germany's first female fighter pilot. Flender graduated pilot training about 10 months ahead of Baumann, also at ENJJPT.
"It was really neat," Baumann said. "We did a cross-country flight with the first two female WSO's (Weapons Systems Officers)...it gave us a real sense of satisfaction."
Being a fully-qualified fighter pilot has nothing to do with gender; rather, it is proved by how well a pilot can actually fly.
"The guys I fly with have never had an issue with me being female," Baumann said. "If you perform well and can fly, you are accepted. If you don't, you will have a hard time whether you are a woman or a man."
Getting the chance to be an instructor pilot at ENJJPT has been rewarding for her.
"I really like it," Baumann said. "I remember my own training very well, so I try to sympathize with the students. It's really nice when they get that glimpse of understanding."
Baumann isn't too caught up in the historical context in which she serves.
"I was always happy and proud to be a fighter pilot," Baumann said. "I never looked at much in the historical sense...if we had opened the forces ten or twenty years earlier, I would have just been one of many."
Getting the chance to fly the next generation of fighters in Europe would be ideal for Baumann, but just being able to fly as a profession is the bottom line.
"I always wanted to be a pilot, not a feminist or somebody who paves the way," Baumann said. "I just wanted to fly airplanes."

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Lieutenant Manja Blok

How a 'dumb blonde' took on the Serbs
It is not entirely true that the Dutch put up no resistance against the Bosnian Serbs prior to their capture of the United Nations "safe area" of Srebrenica on July 11, 1995. The Dutchbat commander, Colonel Thom Karremans, called for close air support on five different occasions between July 6 and July 11. His first four requests were turned down by his U.N. superiors for a variety of bureaucratic reasons.
Then, at literally the eleventh hour, the cavalry arrived in the form of two NATO F-16 fighters flown by Dutch pilots. One of the pilots, Lieutenant Manja Blok, has since become something of a celebrity in Holland, as you can see from the magazine cover above. She aimed two bombs at a couple of Serb tanks advancing into the enclave, causing some minor damage.
"Give 'em hell" shouted the Dutch ground controller, as she dived in to release her bombs. "Good luck, girl...They are all bad guys!" (An English translation of the pilot chatter, as well as an interview with Manja Blok.
It is ironic that the job of stopping the macho, testosterone-infused General Ratko Mladic fell to a woman. Manja later explained to Dutch TV that she and other pilots had been frustrated by the restrictive rules of engagement which pretty much confined them to fruitless patrols over the combat zone. When she returned from her mission over Srebrenica, her fellow top guns were green with envy.
"Dumb blonde!" someone yelled, as she got out of the fighter jet. "Good job!"
Unfortunately for the residents of Srebrenica, thousands of whom were systematically slaughtered by Mladic's men, Manja arrived on the scene too late to make a difference. Shortly after she dropped her bombs from an altitude of 15,000 feet at 2:40 p.m., the Serbs threatened to kill 30 Dutchbat hostages they had previously captured. The Dutch government caved immediately and called off the air strikes. (Taking peacekeepers hostage is one of the many charges against Mladic at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal.)
Manja made clear that she did not agree with the restraint shown by her superiors toward the Bosnian Serbs. "Nobody wanted to take the lead, nobody wanted to take responsibility ... People always complained about how little resistance we offered, that we were too late, with too little force, we were only there with two F-16s. That's right, but it that wasn't because of us [pilots]!"
When Mladic met the British general Sir Rupert Smith in Belgrade a few days later, on July 16, he was still angry about the incident, complaining that one of the bombs had nearly hit him. "What a pity it missed," was Smith's laconic reply.
As it turned out, Manja's efforts did virtually nothing to stop the Serb advance. It was a case of much too little, far too late. The Bosnian Serbs raised their flag over Srebrenica shortly before 5 p.m. Mladic took a triumphant stroll through the streets of the town shortly afterward, as you can see on this clip. Dutchbat peacekeepers on the ground did not fire a single shot at the Serbs as they entered the "safe area."
In my next post, I will describe in more detail why and how Dutchbat's earlier requests for close air support were turned down, at a time when they might have made a difference.

Former Bozeman resident Kristen ”Marshall” Kent was the fifth female pilot to graduate from F-15 fighter school

http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/local-fliers-set-high-goals/article_ad4f281f-4264-51ca-b1d6-5cc23ad03a82.html

Sarah, is stationed in Korea, flying F-16 fighter jets and she recently took this picture of herself in her jet with the TOMS flag! Pretty awesome.
http://www.toms.com/blog/taxonomy/term/802
Anyone know her full name?

Maj Caroline Jensen Thunderbird No. 3

Col. Jeannie Leavitt F-15E Pilot

UT Grad Becomes First Woman to Command Air Force Fighter Wing
In 1993, Jeannie Leavitt became the Air Force’s first woman fighter pilot after a restriction banning females from flying in combat missions was dropped. This week, 20 years after she first joined the Air Force, she infiltrated the boys’ club yet again.
After logging more than 2,500 hours in an F-15 Strike Eagle and more than 300 hours in combat, Leavitt, BS ’90, has earned the honor of becoming the first woman to command an Air Force combat fighter wing.
A 1997 Outstanding Young Texas Ex, Leavitt studied aerospace engineering while on the Forty Acres and was a distinguished graduate of UT’s ROTC program.
In her new position, Leavitt, 45, will oversee the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, which houses more than 5,000 active duty men and women and 12,000 base civilians.
The 4th Fighter Wing is one of just three elite units with access to F-15E’s, the premier jets of the Air Force—a testament to Leavitt’s capability and incredible skill set. But she’s nothing but humble.
“I don’t see it as a ‘first’ sort of thing,” she told the Associated Press. “I see it as an incredible opportunity, an incredible honor, to lead a unit with its history and heritage.”

Women in combat: Air Force Col. Jeannie Leavitt (center) talks with Capt. Ryan Roper (l.) and Capt. Jordan Richardson at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro N.C. She is the first female jet fighter pilot in US history and the first woman to command a fighter wing squadron. This is the cover story of the July 2 issue of The Christian Science MonitorWeekly magazine
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2012/0701/Women-in-combat-US-military-on-verge-of-making-it-official

Lt. Col. Colonel Stephane Wolfgeher F-16 Pilot
by Master Sgt. Cynthia Dorfner
To say Wolfgeher comes from a military family is definitely an understatement. She grew up an Army “brat” “” her father retired as a colonel; she has a brother in the Missouri Army National Guard; and she’s married to an officer in the Naval Reserve. With all of those military men in her life, it only makes sense this F-16 pilot would have no issues in a profession dominated by males. Still, it’s safe to say she’s holding her own.
When did you decide to join the Air Force? I always figured I was going to be in the military. I applied for both Army and Air Force ROTC scholarships, and the Air Force came through first with my school of choice. It was my way to pay for my education, but I don’t think I ever really considered anything else but being the in the military for a career.
Did you always want to be a pilot? No. Growing up “in the Army,” I didn’t really know anything about flying. During my field training between my sophomore and junior year of college, I met some aviators and was really impressed with them ““ with their confidence, their intelligence and their interaction with other people.
How did you end up as a fighter pilot? I studied hard, I “chair flew” my missions (practiced my flights on the ground in my head by visualizing how it would go, what I would do, what I would say), and I strove to help others. It was a way to cement the concepts in my own mind.
How was that for you … entering a field that was dominated by men? I never had anyone tell me I couldn’t do something because I was a female. The men (and women) I was going through training with didn’t seem to have any issues “” if anything, it was the older “generation” that sometimes had problems with women in aviation. I realized it was important for me to succeed and show those that felt women didn’t have the qualifications that we could succeed in the fighter business.
Do you ever feel pressure to succeed in your field because you’re a woman? Yes. I was one of the first few females in the F-15E and we were under the microscope. We had to prove we were there because of our abilities and not just because of some “quota.” We were also enough of a “novelty” to make others take notice.
Do/did you have a female mentor in your life? When you say female mentor, I think military career mentor. When I started out, there wasn’t really anyone in “front” of me to look up to. I looked up to the men in my career field because they were fighter pilots and leaders and that is what I wanted to be. I didn’t care if they were men or women. If you mean any female I looked up to, I would have to say my mother, grandmother and sister. They valued competence and intelligence and saw no barriers to what I wanted to become.

Maj. Allena Lewis F-16 Pilot

U.S. Air Force Maj. Allena Lewis hands her flight bag to U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Stephen Lewis after completing combat training during Red Flag-Alaska 12-2 on Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, June 14, 2012. Allena, a pilot, is assigned to the 77th Fighter Squadron, and Lewis, a crew chief, is assigned to the 20th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Michael R. Holzworth
http://www.defense.gov/PhotoEssays/PhotoEssayImage.aspx?id=82767&name=U.S.,%20Multinational%20Airmen%20Continue%20Training%20During%20Red%20Flag-Alaska%2012-2

Lt. Tessa du Toit (the first female Navigator of Gripen fighter jet in South Africa Air Force)

http://www.pilotspost.com/arn0000089

Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space, died.
Sally Kristen Ride (May 26, 1951 – July 23, 2012)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Ride

A great pioneer, may she rest in peace. Salute

Chineese Female Fighter Pilots

IRIAF Female F-5 Pilot , Bushehr Air Show 2012 , Iran.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Laura Tanski pauses for a photo in front of her Apache Block III helicopter, Aug. 16, 2012, at Marshall Army Airfield on Fort Riley, Kan. Tanski is one of less than 20 female Army aviators who fly for the 1st Infantry Division's...

Forum: Off-topic

Women in and out of Uniform