Class or No Class

One of the assignments I had, while on active duty with the Air Force, was to serve as the staff judge advocate at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. It was an interesting assignment, for a number of reasons, but one of the interesting parts of the assignment was the chance to serve as a "greeter" for Distinguished Visitors. Andrews Air Force Base, home to Air Force One, also hosts flights for Congressmen (and women), as well as members of the Cabinet and other important people. I got to "welcome home" a couple of important people, including Secretary of State Condalisa Rice and First Lady Laura Bush. Both women were extremely polite, exceedingly gracious, and exceedingly classy. What a shock it was for me, based on those experiences, to see the photograph of our current First Lady debarking from Air Force One dressed in shorts and tennis shoes.


Now anyone who knows me knows that I'm a pretty informal person. (I went to my high school graduation wearing jeans....you couldn't see a nice dress under the graduation robe...). I live in jeans and enjoy workout clothes. But, if you ask me, casual and informal clothes are not appropriate wear for someone representing our great Nation as First Lady while riding on Air Force One. I wouldn't wear jeans to a business meeting or while representing a client in court. That our current First Lady feels it appropriate to wear casual clothing while representing our Country does nothing but demonstrates a severe lack of class.

h/t Grama & Ally

Women in the Military....Making a Difference!

Here's a great story of an Air Force pilot who is making a difference...oh, and she happens to be a woman flying as a military advisor and an instructor pilot with the Iraqi Air Force. Who said cultural prejudices couldn't be overcome?

Female Advisor Invades Iraqi Airspace

by Senior Airman Alyssa C. Miles
U.S. Air Forces Central Public Affairs

11/4/2009 - CAMP TAJI, Iraq -- A female Air Force pilot deployed from Andrews Air Force Base, Md., works in a male dominated environment training Iraqi helicopter pilots.

Capt. Kacey Grannis, 721st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, is the Iraqi air force's first female Mi-17 instructor pilot at Camp Taji, a job which she describes as one of a kind.

"My primary duty as an air advisor is to train, advise and assist their pilots by expanding their knowledge base," she said. "I'm an American Air Force pilot flying in an Iraqi air force bird built by Ukrainians with an Iraqi co-pilot in a combat zone. Everything from the challenges we have to deal with, to the rewards that we reap from our relationships with the Iraqi co-pilots and the sheer 'cool' factor of the flying we get to do is rather unique."

In the Iraqi military female pilots are scarce, and upon notification their new advisor would be female, some Iraqi pilots doubted Captain Grannis' ability to handle the helicopter's large frame. However, the captain decided to let her skills speak for themselves.

"There have been other female air advisors, but not in this air frame," she said. "For the guys I was flying with, I think they were maybe not really sure what I could do, but they were at least willing to let me fly with them and let me demonstrate my skills. I was fortunate enough to have the best training in the world, so I was able to do what I know how to do. I believe I've garnered the respect I needed.

"One of my very good friends here is a member of Squadron 4's leadership," the Sturgis, S.D., native continued. "He's one of the most experienced Iraqi pilots here - he's an absolute wizard in the Mi-17 and he's known for being skilled for hovering without the flight control assist system. When I first got here, he wanted to fly with me to kind of gauge my skills. As we were out flying, I asked him if we could do some hovering with the auto pilot off, simply because I knew it was something he would find valuable if I could do it properly. I feel like the fact that I was able to one - do it, and two - do it well, I feel like he responded well to that."

Captain Grannis, who has more than 50 hours in the Mi-17, trains Iraqi pilots who have many more hours in the aircraft than she.

"Pilots as a whole tend to be competitive and respect number of hours and skill level," she explained. "The dynamic itself is very interesting - the pilots we fly with have a lot more experience in the aircraft specifically than we do; there are definitely things that we have as coalition advisors to learn from these guys. They are definitely the experts on the aircraft systems and the performance handling characteristics. However, we're not necessarily trying to teach them how to fly, we're trying to teach them how to employ the aircraft in ways that are different from what they've done in the past."

Outside of the learning environment, the Iraqis have come to view Captain Grannis as family.

"I get a lot of attention because I'm a female, but it's very respectful attention," she said. "A lot of times these guys kind of treat me like their little sister which is a great honor to me because I know in Iraqi culture, family is very important. I'm honored that these guys consider me a sister. But I tell them 'outside the aircraft, I'm a woman, inside the aircraft, I'm a pilot. And because I'm your instructor pilot, you're going to do what I tell you to do.'"

One student who has responded well to the Captain's training is Iraqi air force Capt. Jabbar, who says he has no qualms working with another female advisor "if they are as talented as Captain Grannis."

"Captain Grannis is the first female pilot I've worked with," he said. "She's a very good instructor and she has good experience for training and teaching. She always gives good advice and she never gives up."

With the training he and his peers are receiving, Captain Jabbar has high hopes for his country.

"We're making good progress with our training, and I hope the Iraqi air force is a strong air force for this country," he said. "I wish peace for Iraq and I wish the Americans a good and happy life, and I hope they wish the same for us."

Captain Grannis does.

"This has been a great experience," she said. "I'm very fortunate to have been able to come here and meet all these great people. I'm honored to work with the officers, warrant officers and airmen of the Iraqi air force. Without exception, every one of them is highly patriotic and dedicated to the job they're doing and dedicated to the idea of a free peaceful Iraq, and I think that's amazing."

Pvt Monica Brown

Yesterday, CBS aired a 60 Minutes story on Pvt Monica Brown, the second woman to be awarded the Silver Star since WWII. Pvt Brown, an Army medic, was awarded the medal for her bravery in risking her life by running through small arms and mortar fire to treat two critically wounded paratroopers, and shielding them with her body while they were evacuated. Both paratroopers survived. Pvt Brown was only 18-years old at the time, and had only 4 months training as a medic. Her story is a good one. If you missed it, you can check out the 60 Minutes story here.

Pvt Brown's story raises the question, again, whether women should be allowed in combat units. Now, being retired from the Air Force (and a woman) I have found no reason that women cannot perform just as well as men in a combat situation. There is no reason that women must be restricted from combat or front-line units (especially when there is no such thing as a "front line" in combat zones like Iraq or Afghanistan). Women are just as competent as men in stressful situations like combat. Just ask any stay-at-home Mom with an active toddler in the house.

Having said that women should be allowed in combat, I also have to say that I do not believe that physical requirements for combat units should be "gender-normed" just to allow women into the unit. In other words, if a woman can pass the same physical standards that the men are required to pass, she should be allowed to serve in a combat unit. If she can't pass, she shouldn't. It's that simple.

What do you think?

h/t GI Kate

Wonderful WASPs!

I love the Women in Military Service to America Memorial! It's in a beautiful location at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. The Memorial houses a number of collections dedicated to Women who have served in the armed forces, including a computerized register of women veterans. The Memorial has hosted a number of very important exhibits, and they have just opened a great one!

On November 14th, the Memorial opened a traveling exhibit called "Fly Girls of World War II." The exhibit is dedicated to telling the story of the Women's Airforce Service Pilots or WASPS. The WASP program lasted two years, from 1942 to 1944, and allowed women to train to become pilots and allowed them to fly. They test-flew bombers and ferried airplanes to the war zone. Unfortunately, the program was disbanded after only two years, because Congress wouldn't grant the WASPs military status; they were considered civil service employees until 1977 when they were finally recognized as military veterans. An article on the exhibit opening published in Family Security Matters, quotes one WASP as saying,

“We think it’s marvelous that people remember what we did,” said Scotty Gough, 86, who served with the WASP for only one year because she was one year too young when the program started. “I loved flying so much that if I had had the money, I would’ve paid the Air Force to let me fly.”

“For many, many years people knew nothing about us, and it’s important for generations to know what we did and what we were. We were the first ones to fly for the Army, and that’s why today’s women are flying jets and in the Air Force.”

As a woman Air Force veteran, and the mother of a woman Air Force pilot, I salute these brave women who paved the way for us. Without their contributions to their country, I would not have been able to have served. Without their example and dedication, my daughter would not have been able to fulfill her dream to fly. Thank you WASPs!

Vote for Women!

On this date in 1920, women were finally given the right to vote. As woman, I can only be grateful to those suffragettes who worked hard to convince the powers that be that women can not only think, but could think critically, and should be enfranchised. Thank you!