U.S. Coast Guard photo | 
Aviation Ordnance
personnel
work on a
laser guided bomb
on the USS Carl Vinson.
(U.S. Navy Photo) | 
Air Force member
readies for
deployment.
USAF Photo | 
At home Air
National Guard
provides Airport
Security. USAF Photo | 
At sea aboard USS John F. Kennedy
Seaman Cassie Cassario signals the USNS Pecos
from the ship's hangar bay,
during a night time operation.
USN Photo |
Air Force 1st Lt. Kate Gries, a B1-B bomber pilot, tells ABC television reporter Cokie Roberts and a Bertie Backus Middle School audience about being a bomber pilot and what freedom means to her during the April 30, 2002, "Celebration of Patriotism" Web cast from the school, in Washington, D.C.
Lt. Kathryn "Kate" M. Gries, flew B1-B bomber combat missions over Afghanistan with the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron of Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.
Photo by Rudi Williams.
Jacqueline Fleck Kidd received the Purple Heart on Monday, January 14th
in a ceremony at
Ft. Belvoir, Davidson Air Field for injuries sustained while
on duty as an
Air Traffic Controller at the Pentagon Helipad on September 11th.
Kandahar, Afghanistan, Dec. 23, 2001 -
A U.S. Navy Chaplain performs a Sunday Catholic Mass for U.S. military personnel at a forward operating base in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The Marine Corps integrates Navy chaplains and medical personnel into the Marine Corps component of the Navy-Marine Corps team. U.S. military personnel are in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
U.S. Navy photo by Chief Photographer's Mate Johnny Bivera.
At sea aboard USS Carl Vinson, Nov. 13, 2001 -
Electronic Warfare Technicians keep a sharp watch at their
anti-ship missile defense positions aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson .
Vinson and her battle group are supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Martin S. Fuentes.
 | At sea aboard USS Carl Vinson, Oct. 13, 2001 - An Aviation Ordnanceman aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and assigned to "Warhawks" of Strike Fighter Squadron Ninety-Seven (VFA-97) signals her crew to prepare aircraft for arming. Carl Vinson and its carrier air wing are conducting strikes against terrorist training camps and Taliban military installations in Afghanistan under Operation Enduring Freedom. U. S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Kerryl Cacho. |
|
At sea aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt, Oct. 28, 2001 - An Aviation Survival Equipmentman onboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) checks the gear of a Naval aviator as she suits up for a mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Theodore Roosevelt and its carrier airwing are participating in Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Photographer's Mate Eric A. Clement.
|  |
"O" Magazine features "AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEWOMAN"
Almost a year before the events of September 11,
terrorists bombed the U.S.S. Cole, killing 17 sailors.
Somehow, Lt. Commander Deborah Courtney managed to keep
her head above water, oil, fire, smoke and pandemonium.
Cathleen Medwick reports the story here:"O" magazine | 
Lt Cmdr Courtney |
Col. Rhonda Cornum
was featured in
the US News & World Report
Special Issue on Heroes.
Archived here online. |
September Legion Magazine
recognizes military women.
Excellent article by Jay Stuller
but not available online. |
Columnist's "Weapon of Choice"
The Water Cooler Quotidian commentary
- or how quisling columnists twist the truth -
and the wonderfully stated reply from a career soldier.
The Associated Press ran a feature story on women pilots on Oct 24th:
Excerpt:
"Women pilots flying combat missions over Afghanistan with little or no fanfare The Associated Press ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (AP) After flying an attack mission on Afghanistan Tuesday, Lt. j.g. Sara said she didn't think she and other women pilots should be singled out for attention or that what she was doing was historic. Indeed, little attention has been focused on women fighter pilots and weapons' officers during the war on terrorism, even though it is only the second major U.S. military campaign since the Navy decided to allow women to fly combat aircraft in 1993. Kosovo was the first. "I've never thought that it was a big deal that I was an aviator, I just go out there and do my job," Sara, the 25-year-old from Billings, Mont., said. "I don't like to see women singled out, basically." For security reasons she can only be identified by her first name and her call-sign, "Goalie." Sara, who was surprised by media requests to interview her, said she is proud of the example the United States has set by allowing her to fly combat missions. During the 1991 Gulf War, women sailors flew combat support missions, earning a lot of press coverage and sparking debate about women in combat, especially after a woman helicopter pilot was captured by Iraqi forces. Now women fly the most advanced fighter aircraft, bombing Taliban and al-Qaida targets while under anti-aircraft fire."
At sea aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt, Oct. 17, 2001 - Air Traffic Controllers aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) work together as a team to safely direct the aircraft assigned to Carrier Air Wing One (CVW 1) as they arrive or depart from the airspace near the ship. Roosevelt and her embarked carrier air wing have joined other Navy carrier battle groups in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Jeremy Hall.
An Air Force crew member "tweaks" the signal during broadcast on a recent training mission aboard an EC- 130 "Commando Solo II" aircraft. The Commando Solo is flown by the 193rd Special Operations Wing, Pennsylvania Air National Guard. Photo by Master Sgt. David Hawkins, USAF.
At any time of the day or night, an Air Force Special Operations Command EC-130E Commando Solo II is in the area of operations and broadcasting news and information to the Afghan people.
Landing a helicopter on a heaving aircraft carrier in the dark guided by night vision goggles is a piece of cake compared to confronting game show host Anne Robinson.
Lieutenant Julie Antonacci, a 31-year-old US Navy pilot currently serving aboard the USS Peleliu somewhere in the Arabian Sea as part of support for the Afghanistan offensive, became the Smartest Link recently and left with a $45,000 win on NBC's "The Weakest Link".
Also on TV:
Gunnery Sergeant Annette L. Taylor,
U. S. Marine Corps,
participated in the first Reality Television Show "Boot Camp" for an
eight week run in the United States and Abroad affiliates (Japan/Europe) for
Fox television network. Sgt. Taylor was elected to perform duties as a female Drill
Instructor for the contestants (male/female).
at Camp Blanding Army Reserve Base in Florida.
| At sea aboard USS Carl Vinson, Nov. 4, 2001 - Aviation Machinist's Mates from the "Dragonfires" of Sea Control Squadron Twenty Nine (VS-29) replace a jet engine in an S-3B Viking aircraft in the hangar bay on board USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). Carl Vinson and her airwing are part of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class Greg Messier. |  |
Unless otherwise noted content © 1996 to date by Captain Barbara A. Wilson, USAF (Ret)
Learn more... "Ladies Night Over Afghanistan"
