Women pilots: A weapon to be used

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Erica Stewart
  • 36th Operations Group Public Affairs
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AFPN) --  "This is not a time when women should be patient. We are in a war and we need to fight it with all our ability and every weapon possible. Women pilots, in this particular case, are a weapon waiting to be used," said Eleanor Roosevelt, former first lady of the United States.

These words, spoken in 1942, were proven true when the Women Airforce Service Pilots were founded and played a pivotal role in World War II. 

That statement again holds true today with many female Air Force pilots deploying around the world, proving to be an invaluable weapon in the war on terrorism.

You don't have to go very far to see female pilots in action, as several are deployed to Andersen Air Force Base in support of the continuous bomber presence in the Pacific region.

Successful deterrence and security in the western Pacific wouldn't be possible without a team effort, said 1st. Lt. Nicola Hill, the 96th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron scheduling officer.

"It is not women particularly, it is each individual unit working together to accomplish its mission," Lieutenant Hill said. "The invaluable asset for the war on terrorism is the teamwork of the military."

Lieutenant Hill, one of only two female B-52 Stratofortress pilots deployed here, performs a variety of missions while on Guam, to include aerial bombing missions at test ranges all over the region.

"Andersen (AFB) gives the 96th EBS a chance to hone skills that we don't get to exercise as often from home station," Lieutenant Hill said. "The diverse mission of the continuous bomber presence allows us to fly to ranges that many of us haven't seen before and demonstrate the United State's continued commitment to fulfill security obligations throughout the western Pacific."

Through great social advances fought for by the WASP, like the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, women pilots in the Air Force are now not just a weapon waiting to be used. They are a devastating asset to defeating the enemy, said Lt. Col. James Melvin, the 96th EBS director of operations.

"The women pilots that we have at the 96th EBS are sterling performers who are completely invaluable to stability and deterrence in the western Pacific as well as to the war on terrorism," Colonel Melvin said. "Without them, our mission in Guam as well as at home station wouldn't be feasible."

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