BlackFive

During my Truman duty a couple of years ago I saw, walking across the flight deck, laden and bedecked with aircraft tie-down chains, the smallest, most petite, most pint-sized plane captain I have ever seen.  AT3 Pham, an Aviation Electronics Technician assigned to one of the Hornet squadrons in CAG 3, carried her load admirably and, from what I could see, performed just as ably as the other brown shirts on the flight deck.

We passed each other in the passageway one evening, and I had to ask her how tall she was. I can’t remember exactly, but it was something shy of 5 feet.  She was a pleasure and a treat to talk with – I thanked her for her service and told her she was doing a helluva job as I imagined the hurdles (literally, in some ways) she had to go through to succeed in this flight deck Naval Aviation world despite her less-than-Amazonish stature.  She is obviously a tremendous asset to the Navy and our country and is proof, once again, that our strength is in the people who serve.

Thanks for your service, AT3!  And all the rest of you all on the flight deck!