War stories Desert Storm to Operation Iraqi Freedom

By ANN Correspondent Aleta Vinas

The seven veterans on stage have flown FA-18s to KC135s from Desert Storm to Operation Iraqi Freedom, yet there was not an ego evident or an ounce of testosterone to be found. These veterans were women and they shared some of their stories with the audience on the closing day of the Women in Aviation International conference.

Marine Corps Major Karen Tribbet flew F/A18 Hornets and now flies G-5s. “In 2001 I got to go to the island of Iwo Jima. Iwo Jima is in many ways the Marine Corps emblem. To fly around the island you can actually still see the caves in the side of the walls. You can see some of the landing craft that are still in the water. Then to be on the island and go to the top of Mount Suribachi and see the beaches that the Marines came across was absolutely amazing. So hands down, going to Iwo Jima was the best thing I could ever imagine doing,” said Tribbet when asked about the moment that made her proudest to be an American.

Lt. Cmdr Kerry Kuykendall wanted to fly ever since she saw "The Right Stuff." She flew F-14 Tomcats. One of the incidents she tells about was when she knew the men were accepting of her and the other two females. “When I checked into my very first squadron, the skipper didn’t have any experience with women in his squadron and he told us that. He said ‘I don’t know how to treat you, do I treat you like my sister, my mother, my daughter, my girlfriend? I just ask you to be patient.’  We would all go on deployment, Christmas, Easter we were all on the ship. When the skipper was on the ship, he wanted to focus on the mission. Fly, fly, fly, sleep and eat that was it. Christmas came and all the girls decorated the ready room. We had a Christmas tree, the lights, we had everything. We were singing Christmas carols; the rest of the regulars joined in but the skipper wasn’t quite sure. Easter comes along four months later and we all go into the ready room on Easter morning and there are Easter eggs scattered, they’re hidden and they’re decorated and this big note says ‘Find the Easter Eggs’. Sure enough, the skipper had done it. When he finally left the unit and moved on, at the change of command, he came up to us three girls, kind of pulled us aside and said ‘Thank you. I really realize how much better this squadron was because you guys were in it.’”

Air Force Reserve Captain Anita West—Werner is a C-5 Galaxy pilot at Dover. When asked her views on family life in the service, she replied, “I’ll be married six years this May. I got married in May of 99, and I left October of 99 for my first day of Air Force training. My husband was active duty Marine Corps at the time, stationed at Andrews AFB. I was in the Air Force and got sent to Del Rio, so I spent the first two years of my married life unaccompanied. Then September 11th happened and we figured in the first three years we were married, we were together about three months. He is extremely supportive. He has gotten out of the Marine Corps in the mean time. He is a Home Depot supervisor, so he is home when I come home, it’s great.”

Air Force Major Louise Reeves flies KC135s. Reeves knew she wanted to fly when she saw the T-38s on the old TV show, "The Six Million Dollar Man." Her proud-to-be-an-American moment was “I guess something that really amazed me during the Gulf War, which is really the first war we had after Vietnam, was the way the American people treated us. I got so much mail... from the people in my community..." While American support isn't as pervasive for the current war in Iraq, she said, "I'm glad to see... people are separating the cause from the troops." In other words, she said while America's feelings on the war are divided, the country is united in supporting its men and women in uniform.

Army Chief Warrant Officer Kelley Denny flew Blackhawks on air assault and med evac. Some of her career highlights include assignment to the Special Ops unit and their first female pilot command in the Special Ops unit. That was a big thing for her. Another highlight was when “I went to Germany where I flew recon in a C12 over Kosovo. After two years my career manager nominated me to go to The Golden Knights. I’ve been flying the Golden Knights for three years.”

Air Force Major Kimm Sandusky's career highlights include being Assistant Airshow coordinator for The Thunderbirds. She became a med tech in the Air National Guard, then a flight med tech with a specialty in ER nursing. Her personal highlight: “I was flying an operational mission to Germany and they had our flight crew bring back the first wounded soldiers right around April. Along with the wounded soldiers was Jessica Lynch. I couldn’t believe I was part of that.”  Another highlight: “I was able to meet George W. Bush and actually shake his hand and he thanked me for my service. I was pretty happy about that.”

Air Force Lt. Jackie Fleming started her Air Force career at a Women in Aviation International conference. She noticed the women in the green flight suits. She spoke with them and learned about the military from them. The day after her C141 checkride she went on her first mission. “Our primary job is med evac out of Iraq. I was ready to go. I had a blast in pilot training. I was ready to get going.” She is about to transition back to being a traditional reservist. “My civilian job is flying for Victoria’s Secret. I fly the G4 and RJ. I do get a discount.”

FMI: http://www.wai.org