First All Female Crew Flies Combat Mission

Posted By Blackfive

From left to right, Staff Sgt. Josie E. Harshe, flight engineer; Capt. Anita T. Mack, navigator; 1st Lt. Siobhan Couturier, pilot; Capt. Carol J. Mitchell, aircraft commander; and loadmasters Tech. Sgt. Sigrid M. Carrero-Perez and Senior Airman Ci Ci Alonzo, pause in the cargo bay of their C-130 for a group photo following their historic flight. [U.S. Air Force photo]

First All-female Crew Flies Combat Mission                                                     
A crew of six Airmen at a forward deployed location climbed aboard a
C-130 Hercules together recently for the first time

By U.S. Air Force Capt. Michael G. Johnson
386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Sept. 27, 2005 — A crew of six Airmen at a forward deployed location climbed aboard a C-130 Hercules together recently for the first time in their careers. But something distinguished this mission from others they had flown --it was the first time an all-female C-130 crew flew a combat mission.

Capt. Carol Mitchell, aircraft commander; 1st Lt. Siobhan Couturier, pilot; Capt. Anita T. Mack, navigator; Staff Sgt. Josie E. Harshe, flight engineer; and loadmasters Tech. Sgt. Sigrid M. Carrero-Perez and Senior Airman Ci Ci Alonzo are all permanently assigned to the 43rd Airlift Wing at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., and currently are deployed to the 737th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron flying cargo and troops in and out of Iraq, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa.

While some would call their mission “historic,” they feel this mission should be recognized like every other flight -- a successful combat mission.

“I enjoyed flying with this crew, but I don’t think we should go out of our way to have all-female crews,” said Captain Mitchell. “It took a long time for women to become accepted as aircrew members, and now that we are, we would be taking a step back by singling ourselves out rather than blending in with the rest of the Air Force.”

Airman Alonzo agrees. “It was a great experience not many females can say they’ve had,” she said. "However I don’t believe the Air Force should seek out all-female crews -- instead, we should focus on experience.

“(The Air Force) should have the best crews they can put together. Nothing other than qualification and ability should be considered,” said Captain Mack.

Not only did this all female crew fly together for the first time, 6,800 miles from home-station, but they flew the mission on a Vietnam-era airplane -- a significance the crew did not miss.

“Our (aircraft) was a 1962 model. (It) came off the line when women weren’t accepted as C-130 aircrew, let alone in combat,” said Sergeant Harshe.

After the excitement of this all-female C-130 crew flying the first combat mission together wore off, they focused on what really mattered.

“(What matters is) knowing we’re making a difference and seeing it with every mission we fly,“ said Airman Alonzo. "(It's also) moving troops into the theater where they’re needed, seeing the excitement and relief on the faces of the guys and gals we take out of theater who have been there for six months to a year and are on their way home to their loved ones."

During the mission, the crew transported 151 Marines and their equipment.

Another thing they all agreed upon, the mission was a true experience.

“It was a fun thing to be able to say you did, if only once. Not that it is better, this was just different, and probably won’t happen for us again anytime soon just because of the sheer numbers,” said Sergeant Harshe.

Captain Mitchell said one additional benefit of this all female flight was gaining a different perspective.

“One way to avoid (complacency) is to mix the crews up a little, fly with some different people to get a different perspective,” she said. “And what better way to mix the crews up than by putting all the girls on the same crew?”

While the all-female crew did accomplish a unique milestone together, they point out that the significance of their mission success is that every crewmember achieved personal goals to get there.

“I encourage any girl or woman to do what she wants. Too often I hear people say they can’t do something (but it is) because they don’t realize they have the opportunity,” Captain Mack said. “I would tell any person flying is an attainable goal for anyone who wants to work for it. As they say, you are only limited in what you can do by what you can dream.”

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Blackfive has a great post up about the First ALL Female COMBAT Mission! Ya'll, I am PROUD to be an American Woman today! These ladies are tough, have what it takes to be America's warriors. [Read More]

Comments

[thebronze]

EGADS!!! They aren't very purtty, are they?

[acoustic kitty]

All I can say is Grrrrr!

[Janie]

Go Ladies!

Bet they didn't get lost and ask for directions when they flew those Marines.....

[Chap]

I'm reading this from the cell phone, so no links--but didn't the Afghanistan folks have all-female crews back in '02? Or Mark Bowden's "you've just been killed by a girl" article in the Atlantic in '03? Or the A-10 pilot, standing next to the shot-away rudder of her plane?

You'd think at some point we'd stop thinking this was all unique. That USAF public affairs guy might well be looking backward rather than forward...

[AFSister]

OMG!
That is SO COOL!
My brother is a C-130 Herc Crew Chief out of Wright Patterson in Dayton. I don't know if they have any women in his unit- the only time I've seen him "at work" was at the Dayton Air Show, and the crew was all male.

I love the Captain's quote, about not going out of the way to create all-female crews. Being a part of history is cool, but being an integrated part of the Air Force is more important. I'm glad to see they recognize both facts.

[linda]

Good one, Janie!

Go girls!

[Mike Lancaster]

Great story and good for them. I have a photo though of an all female tanker crew flying operational missions from at least two years or so ago somewhere in the same ether these women are flying in...

[David]

I wonder if this will help with enlistment? It was a matter of time, and am glad to seee it.

[LYNN]

I think it is great what women are doing in today's military. I am a 59 yr. old male, Navy vet (enlisted)so I am of another generation. Note also that it is an "integrated" crew too. The Military Way.

[cirby]

Reminds me of the old days as a tech in the AF, when we took a little straw poll of which airman in our ECM unit we'd most prefer to have standing guard over us in a shooting war (ECM troops tend to have a very high casualty rate in wartime, once the bad guys figure out what you're doing - in Vietnam, higher than most front-line ground units).

The near-unanimous winner was "Donna," one of the two or three women we had in the whole AMU.

[Jason]

Third from the right?

I'd hit it!

Look at that saucy pose.

[Blackfive]

I knew this post was gonna be trouble...

[Kat in GA]

Way cool. :-)

[Jason]

Sorry, Blackfive.

It's just what I do...

[Yankee PaPa]

.Lets hear it for the ladies..From this old Marine who has spent way too many hours in a C-130..Enough to know I didn't like it..He-He..and in the 'Nam'..Congratulations ladies and Semper Fi..

[lometa]

WOW! All I can say is just WOW!

[Yankee PaPa]

..And these ladies look like they are packing some serious iron..Look at them cartage belts..That's all I need to know..Semper Fi..

[delftsman3]

I was just talking with a friend of mine this afternoon about the possibility of assembling an all female combat unit..The 101st PMS Brigade..., and then I see this.

Good for them. It's probably a plus for the returning units to have a little eye candy for their trip back to the world....with proper military decorum maintained at all times, of course ;)

All kidding and slobbering aside, it's good to see that women are getting their just recognition.

[Rob_NC]

"The 101st PMS Brigade"..whew,that makes me tremble just thinking about it..grrrrr..

[Jenifer D.]

Women are more than just eye-candy, we can feed and dress ourselves as well. =;-)Oh, yeah, and we are downright lethal given an M-16 and a few thousand rounds of 5.56mm.

[Ledger]

That is really cool!

But, I have to echo what Chap wrote. I remember reading an all female crew did fly a combat patrol in Afghanistan. I am thinking that they flew it from a carrier but I could be mistaken (and it's possible it may have been a UK team).

[Chap]

Oh, and one more thing....

why not USE the information warfare benefit of having our roughest and toughest be the thing that jihadis are most scared of in the world....strong, powerful WOMEN? (Our psyops bubbas know this well, calling them "girlie men" in Arabic on the ol' LRAD just to freak out AIF.)

See THIS, shaheed? These women will get 72 of better than the likes of YOU!

Heh.

[Barbara]

BRAVA!!!

[Big Sarge]

Thanks for the link B5!
Hooah for the crew!!!

[tsp]

from left to right, #1 and #4 are HOT! nothing sexier than a good lookin' girl with a 9mm strapped to her thigh.

[Dkelsmith]

I understand that this is something that perhaps the women don't want to make a big deal out of, but in some ways it shows the amount of progress that the military and America in general has advanced in regard to equal opportunity for qualified individuals. However, a note on how far we need to go is illustrated clearly by the sexist remarks in the comments section. This is a good thing, if you can't make a remark without reducing these service members to sex objects why not refrain from posting. Although many of the people who made those comments probably don't have much of an active sex life anyway. Enough of that. Congratulations ladies, and thank you for your service to America.

[AFSister]

The sexist remarks on this post are making me ill.

I'm sorry, but bronze, Jason, tsp, delftsman- you guys are total pigs. You've taken a perfectly wonderful story about a successful military mission and turned it into a story about "chicks".

I'm here to tell you... look again. Those aren't chicks. They're Airmen- who just happen to be women.

[Xixi]

Not to take one thing away from these ladies, but at one time, to qualify as a combat mission, a C-130 had to be configured as a AC-130 gunship.

[Slabsides]

AFsister, you need to lighten up, We aren't pigs, we are men. And men love to look at beautiful, assertive, strong women. True pigs would be saying they don't believe these women should be in combat, that they should be home making cookies. I couldn't be prouder of these young ladies and am frankly turned on by their courage and attitude. And I have a sense of humor, which, you sadly lack.

[Jason]

Adding to Slabsides comment, AFsister, perhaps you also lack a libido?

[Tony]

Well, that was classy...

BTW, the A-10 pilot referenced earlier is Kim Campbell: http://www.af.mil/news/airman/0603/oifupsb2.html

And the Bowden article can be found at: http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7574

[Dr. Zubov]

If I was a paratrooper on that plane I would convert myself into a 'Service' Technician.

[Jason]

Don't give me your "classy" crap, Tony. I was obviously playing around and was slapped. I slap back. I'm not embarrased by your attempts to look down your nose at me or anyone else being silly here.

[SFC Cheryl McElroy, US ARMY]

HOOAH! Great article, Backfive! It's just one of the many examples of how everyone--regardles of gender---does their job.

[AFSister]

I don't lack libido or a sense of humor. And slabsides.. if you go back and look at the remarks by the men I referenced, they ARE being pigs. There's nothing wrong with looking at "beautiful, assertive, strong women"... as long as you honor the job they are doing as well. These guys did not.

I have a sense of humor. I have a strong libido. And I also have pride- not only about being a woman, but also about other beautiful, assertive, strong women.

[Theresa]

Outstanding.

[Craig Couturier]

One of those brave females is my daughter. Could be prouder!!

[Pave Low John]

Well, it's obvious to me that the crew is kind of embarassed by this PR stunt cooked up by the CENTAF staff. Capt. Mitchell hits the nail on the head by stating that ". . .we would be taking a step back by singling ourselves out rather than blending in with the rest of the Air Force.”

So what's the next bright idea from Public Affairs? First All Hispanic Herc crew? All black crew? All Jewish crew? All Native-American crew? What happened to having a competent, qualified crew and leaving it at that?

Stop the madness. . .

[prairie biker]

You ladies Rock! Thanks so much and give 'em hell!

[Jenn]

I'm a loadmaster on the C-130, and to see an all female crew is extremely inspiring to me. The military is still male dominated, and in fields such as aviation it's even more male dominated. Women are started to shine through the cracks, and we are proving ourselves worthy. Good going girls!

[Brent]

Well it's about time right. It's symbolic that it's all women crew. With just one male on the crew, he was really running the show.

I've worked on many aircraft and all kinds of metal. The ladies were among the very best. (but I don't have to mention that)

It's sad that this should even be considered a milestone really - in this day and age, aviation still has a ways to go in the gender bias arena.

Good on em!

[girlpilot]

I was there in the desert with this crew, and though they're all wonderful, competent crew members, I know this was a publicity stunt that none of them, nor the other crews enjoyed, given that it completely screwed up the flying schedule for a week and a half. I agree whole-heartedly with Capt Mitchell's comments.