Women's History Month: NCOs reflect on achievements

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KABUL, Afghanistan (AFNS) --  In 1994, an 8-year-old girl from San Marcos, Texas, stood up in class and said, "I want to be a fighter pilot."

That little girl was Staff Sgt. Zaira Barba who didn't know that just three years earlier, Lt. Col. Martha McSally became the first American woman to fly a fighter aircraft in during Operation Desert Storm. She later became the first woman to command a combat fighter squadron. 

Fifteen years later, reflecting during the March 2009 Women's History Month observation, Sergeant Barba sat at her desk and laughed about what changed her mind on becoming a pilot.

"I took one ride in a T-38 and I decided then and there that being a pilot just wasn't for me," she joked.

Flying is not for everyone, but it definitely is for Jean Flynn. In 1992, she became the first woman to graduate Undergraduate Pilot Training and the first American woman to enter combat training as a fighter pilot. She completed her training and became the first mission-qualified female fighter pilot in 1994. By the end of 2002, she had logged more than 2,000 hours in the F-15E Strike Eagle, including 200 hours of combat time in Operation Allied Force. She was also the first female pilot to graduate from the Air Force Fighter Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Today, Major Flynn is assigned to the Fighter Weapons School as an F-15E instructor pilot; the first woman to hold that post.

Sergeant Barba is currently serving at the International Security Assistance Force Headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, a designated combat zone.

Only in the last two decades have women in the U.S. military had the opportunity to serve abroad in combat zones. The current policies dictate that women are not allowed to serve in units where the primary function is direct combat on the ground. 

Army Sgt. Angela Aaron, who works in the ISAF U.S. National Support Element office, said Women's History Month is something to celebrate and sees it as an opportunity for perspective.

"If we're going to celebrate what we've become in society, particularly during Women's History Month, we must also look at what we've yet to achieve," said Sergeant Aaron, a native of Little Rock, Ark. "In the past, (women) found ways around the system to serve (in combat). Now we're very close to changing the system that forced them to do that to begin with."

Sergeant Barba said she also thinks those changes could come a lot sooner than one would expect.

"There's been a lot of progress made in my lifetime, which isn't all that long," the 23 year old said. "I really feel like whatever it is we're still lacking, particularly with regard to combat, we'll probably see those changes very soon."

Both sergeants agreed that while women are still not involved in direct combat, the mere fact that they are able to serve in Afghanistan is a significant achievement. At ISAF, they have the opportunity to serve with both men and women of 41 other nations, as well as see firsthand a culture that has a completely different perspective on women's rights.

Sergeant Aaron recalled a recent volunteer trip to an Afghan women's school in Kabul where she said she was surprised by what she saw.

"These women want to go to college, they're smart and intelligent," she said. "Going to school is their way of expressing they want to contribute more. I feel like we can help them achieve that. I think seeing us serving in the military shows both the men and women that everyone can contribute." 

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