Kip Powick Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Okay fellas, tuck your egos away, this IS today's new USAF… coming to Canada soon…Actually I believe we already had a full female crew fly a C-130 from Europe to YTR. The 376th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, flew an ALL FEMALE KC-135 Stratotanker air refueling mission over Afghanistan on Jan. 31. Early on Jan. 31, a KC-135 Stratotanker took off from Ganci Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, carrying more than 180,000 pounds of fuel and an all-female crew-both pilots, a navigator and a boom operator. The event marked the first all-female crew to fly an air refueling mission into Afghanistan from Ganci. Capt. Heather, and the boom operator, Senior Airman Lyndi, are all assigned to the 99th Air Refueling Squadron at Robins Air Force Base, Ga. They have been deployed there since Dec. 9. Hmmmm.. the female boom operator is called an "airman"..M'gawd...could that happen here ?? is that PC ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChicoChico Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Lyndi??? you gotta be kidding me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S. Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Chrikies, they look young! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kilo Mike Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Actually John ... We just look old . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyBlazer Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 its gotta be a prank they indeed look too young SB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cargo Agent Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 its gotta be a prank they indeed look too young SB I was watching a interesting program over the weekend on the History channel. Bomber Boys. It is about a group of young men (boys) that are going through the exact training that was provided by the Commonwealth Air Training Plan during WW2. (ground school, navigation, link trainer, parade drill, spit and poilsh, Tiger Moth solo, the whole program) Along side the boys the program shows a group of veterans and they talk about their experiences during training and in battle. The first thing that I thought of when I saw the first episode is "OMG they are soooo young." http://www.historytelevision.ca/microsites/bomberboys/ My wife and I were in Vegas last week, and I noticed a number of US Armed Forces personnel out with their dates, all dressed to the nines, the boys in their dress uniforms, the girls in their long gowns. Again the first thought I had was " OMG they are soooo young. " I just can't remember when I got old. Those girls not only look young, they are young, and no matter how we feel about the politics of why they are there, they have my respect and admiration. CA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CD Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Ladies' night over Afghanistan by Capt. Elizabeth Ortiz 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs 02/06/03 - OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM (AFPN) -- In one of her songs, country singer Shania Twain croons about all the things women do these days -- they are judges, politicians, doctors and soldiers, to name a few. Not mentioned in the song, but occurring more frequently as the global war on terrorism continues, is something else: female fliers in combat missions over Afghanistan. Early on Jan. 31, a KC-135 Stratotanker took off from Ganci Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, carrying more than 180,000 pounds of fuel and an all-female crew -- both pilots, a navigator and a boom operator. The event marked the first all-female crew to fly an air refueling mission into Afghanistan from Ganci. "We've been really lucky," said 1st Lt. Alison, the navigator on board. Last names are being withheld for operational security. "You don't always deploy with a lot of women. The fact that we have four women on this deployment, and the fact that we make up a crew is amazing." After living with each other in the same tent for almost two months, the women were eager to fly on the same mission. "We've gotten along really well living together, so we were very excited to finally be able to fly together," said Capt. Waynetta, one of the two pilots on the mission. The women, including the other pilot, Capt. Heather, and the boom operator, Senior Airman Lyndi, are all assigned to the 99th Air Refueling Squadron at Robins Air Force Base, Ga. They have been deployed here since Dec. 9. Once inside the tanker, the women began their pre-flight and take-off duties with an ease borne of plenty of experience and skill. Most of them have deployed before, to places like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iceland and Thailand. Between the four of them, they total almost 4,000 flying hours in the KC-135. The flight path to Afghanistan traversed three of the "Stans." The country itself remains a dangerous place. Just a few days before the historic flight, coalition forces on the ground encountered the heaviest fighting since Operation Anaconda last year. Norwegian F-16s from Ganci dropped munitions in support from the air. Once over Afghanistan, the crew got down to business, refueling F-16s from the European participating air forces of Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway. Based at Ganci, the aircraft provide combat air support to coalition ground forces. In the refueling world, the motto is, "Nobody kicks ass without tanker gas." The crew emulated that motto when the boom operator connected two moving aircraft together on a night with 1 percent moon illumination. "It's awesome knowing that I'm having a direct impact on the mission," said Lyndi on her 17th combat mission over Afghanistan. "The fighters couldn't put bombs on target without gas, and I'm the one who gets it to them," she said. More than 50,000 combat missions have been flown in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In all, Lyndi refueled 10 European F-16s during the flight, off-loading 63,000 pounds of fuel. "I'm accomplishing something with my Air Force career," said Alison. This is especially true in the case of OEF, an operation that more than 1,800 women support, according to the public affairs office at Central Air Forces, the air component of U.S. Central Command. "I've always thought the greatest thing I could do with my life was to serve my country and be willing to die for it -- for my family, my neighbors, people I don't even know," Waynetta said. "Now, we're here supporting troops in Afghanistan who are defending our freedom and way of life." Basking in the early morning sunlight, the tanker headed back to Ganci. As the snow-capped mountains poked out above the clouds, the women reflected on the significance of the flight. "All we wanted was to fly together," said Lyndi. "I'm so excited we got to do it." "We believe in equality," Waynetta said. "But, the fact of the matter is, we're still girls, and we're doing something our grandmothers couldn't do. Full story here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreatSlave Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 I hear that they were given the choice of either an Air Force Barbie or Power Puff Girlzz lunchbox to carry their crew meals. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super 80 Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 the daughter of my old boss is a captain on a KC-135, and has been for some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rattler Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 I hear that they were given the choice of either an Air Force Barbie or Power Puff Girlzz lunchbox to carry their crew meals. Kev And I understand that the Male Aircrew has a sim. choice option. In their case it is "Spiderman or GI Joe" lunch boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyBlazer Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Between the four of them, they total almost 4,000 flying hours in the KC-135. ok sooo 4000 divided by 4 equals......wow thats not alot of flying time for the pilots...none the less very impressive, but in a way sad that the US and other forces send there kids to go fight. SB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rattler Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Between the four of them, they total almost 4,000 flying hours in the KC-135. ok sooo 4000 divided by 4 equals......wow thats not alot of flying time for the pilots...none the less very impressive, but in a way sad that the US and other forces send there kids to go fight. SB It was ever thus. Wars are always started by older people and left for younger folks to die in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccairspace Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Chrikies, they look young! That was my first thought too. Then I just began to feel sick to my stomach when I realised what they were doing and where they were doing it... God bless them and all the youngsters fighting the politicians' and the terrorists' wars. ccairspace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fido Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 It was ever thus. Wars are always started by older people and left for younger folks to die in. The CO of 401 Sqn in St.Hubert had a picture on his wall of a gravestone in Europe some where. It was for a Squadron Leader who was killed in WWII. It showed that he was only 21 years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanishing point Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 I saw the "Bomber Boys" on History Channel as well. They boys were grandsons of a Lancaster crew. Ranged in age from 17 to the "old man" of 26. Always amazed me that the typical RAF bomber pilot was only 19 or 20!.....AND the only pilot on board!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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