TEAM OF 10 FEMALE PILOTS FLY TRAINING SORTIE

This article is from the Osan Air Base website where it was published on 26th Oct., 2021. It has been slightly modified.

On a clear and sunny afternoon [at Osan Air Base, a United States Air Force base located near Songtan Station in the city of Pyeongtaek, South Korea, 64 km south of Seoul], eight A-10 Thunderbolt II’s and two F-16 Fighting Falcons were cleared for takeoff to conduct close air support (CAS) training. During the training sortie, the team deciphered the tactical difficulty of having multiple formations in the Area of Operation (AO) by integrating multiple airframes to strike targets passed by a Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC).

This kind of training isn’t unique to the 25th or 36th Fighter Squadron but today each of these aircraft was piloted by a woman.

It’s rare for a squadron to launch a formation of pilots who all happen to be female. Not only were there women flying the A-10s and F-16s, but an all-female weather team briefed the pilots prior to stepping to the aircraft. Female Air Force personnel planned and executed the entire process from radio communication inside the air traffic control tower to the crew chief marshalling the aircraft on the ground. The team effort showcased the ability that women have to lead in every facet from planning to mission execution.

On 28 April, 1993, when former U.S. Secretary of Defence Les Aspin ordered military services to allow women to fly in combat, there was no timetable of how soon the world would see the percentages of female fighter pilots increase.

Today, almost 30 years later, there are only 103 female fighter pilots across the U.S. Air Force 11F career field. Ten percent of those fighter pilots flew jointly in a momentous all-female formation sortie at the 51st Fighter Wing.

“In my 15 years of flying the F-16, I’ve been a part of 10 different fighter squadrons, and I’ve had a total of six other women pilots in all those squadrons,” said Lt. Col. Katie “Taboo” Gaetke, 7th Air Force, Chief of Plans and Policy. “I have never been in a squadron with more than one other woman pilot. To have eight women in one fighter squadron is unreal!” 

Gaetke continued, “When you are the only woman (or any minority), or one of just two or three, there is an implicit burden you carry – to represent all women. Whether you realise it or not, people remember your actions and tend to generalise what you do or say as representative of all people who look like you. When there are eight women in a single fighter squadron, there are suddenly too many to have just one represent the group. Each person is freer to be themselves, to contribute their unique perspective, to take risks and innovate and make mistakes without worrying that they are fulfilling other people’s negative stereotypes about them. This is when we as an Air Force can truly gain from diverse perspectives: when diversity isn’t just an anomaly, but instead there is a critical mass.”

History tells us that female aviators have been capable pilots since the days of WWII and the WASPs, however within the last decade the numbers have swelled to a now noticeable contingent. Someday there will be no novelty in a larger aircrew of female pilots. This sortie is another step in achieving that eventuality.

“When I was in grade school I met a female F-22 Raptor pilot who was stationed in my home town of Anchorage, Alaska,” said Grace “Slap” Herrman, A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot. “She told me she went to the Air Force Academy where she flew gliders and was eventually picked up to be a USAF pilot. At that exact moment I realized that being a fighter pilot was entirely possible for a girl, and I was going to be a fighter pilot. I know this interaction was probably something that seemed so small for Elizabeth, but it was absolutely life changing for me.”

The aircrew included a wide range of experiences from a Lieutenant on her first sortie in the Operations Squadron to Lieutenant Colonels with years of invaluable operational experiences. The launch showcased how much women operating in aviation have increased in the past few years.

With just 10 women, the team spanned qualifications from one of the most qualified pilots in the A-10 Thunderbolt II and F-16 Fighting Falcon squadrons to one of the newest.

Upon landing, leaders from 7th Air Force, 51st Fighter Wing, family, teammates and Girl Scouts troops joined a final flight celebration for Capt. Erin Fullam, F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot. Her devotion to aviation and excellence has been instrumental in the development of mission success at Team Osan.

The Girls Scout troops in attendance scanned the flight line full of aircrew in amazement as the pilots hugged their families and recapped the memorable details of the mission. The moment, both significant in U.S. Air Force aviation history was noticeably striking to the young girls.

“The significance of today’s flight is not for us, the pilots,” said Capt. Grace “Slap” Herman. “It is for the young girl who has never seen a female fighter pilot, let alone 10 of them. We fly for her so she knows nothing is out of her reach and she need only believe to one day be a future fighter pilot.”

LINDA FAGAN TO BE U.S. COAST GUARD’S FIRST FEMALE 4-STAR

21 April, 2021 — The Biden administration has nominated Vice Admiral Linda L. Fagan to the role of vice commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. If her appointment is confirmed by the Senate, she will become the first woman to be promoted to a 4-star rank in the Coast Guard. 

The U.S. Coast Guard is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, operating under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security during peacetime. Its command can be transferred to the U.S. Department of the Navy at any time by the president or the Senate.

Should the Senate confirm her nomination, Fagan would begin her tenure as vice commandant on June 18, replacing Coast Guard Vice Commandant Admiral Charles Ray, according to the service.

“Vice Adm. Fagan is an outstanding leader with 36 years of Coast Guard operations, policy-making, joint service, and interagency experience,” Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Karl Schultz said in the release.

“I am pleased that President Biden has nominated Vice Admiral Linda Fagan to be the Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard,” Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. “She is a superb leader who, as the 32nd Vice Commandant, will guide the Coast Guard at a time when its mission of securing our maritime borders, ports, and waterways has never been more important. 

Vice Admiral Fagan is the Coast Guard’s first-ever Gold Ancient Trident, i.e. the officer with the longest service record in the Marine Safety Field. 

She has served on all seven continents, from the snows of Ross Island, Antarctica, to the heart of Africa, from Tokyo to Geneva, and in many ports along the way. She commanded Sector New York, with responsibility for all Coast Guard missions in the greater New York metropolitan area and as far north as Albany. Additional operational assignments include sea duty on board the USCGC Polar Star, and more than 15 years as a Marine Inspector. Vice Admiral Fagan’s staff tours include Executive Assistant to the Commandant and Vice Commandant, and Division Chief of the Foreign and Offshore Compliance Office.

Vice Admiral Fagan has extensive interagency as well as intergovernmental experience. She has worked with both the International Maritime Organisation and International Labour Organisation on flag state and port state issues, including the development of the International Ship and Port Security Code (ISPS)

She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Science from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, a Master’s Degree in Marine Affairs from the University of Washington, and a Master’s Degree in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. 

Pioneering WASP pilot dies aged 100

5 Feb., 2021 — Bernice “Bee” S. Falk Haydu who served as a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) in World War II and remained an advocate for women pilots, died on 30th January at the age of 100.

Bee started flying in her early 20s because her brother was in the Army Air Force (AAF). She liked it so much that in 1944 she attended a seven-month training programme in Texas. She was assigned to a U-78 training base where she flew as an engineering test pilot and utility pilot during the war. She was on track to fly B-52s but the short-lived WASP programme, founded in summer 1943 was disbanded in December 1944. During that period 1, 074 women were trained as pilots. 

Falk Haydu’s uniform is on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. 

The WASP, although approved by the U.S. military was officially a civilian organisation. Despite this the training the WASPs received at Avenger Field, Texas, was very similar to that received by male AAF cadets. Aged at least over 21 but under 35, women accepted into the programme had to have a minimum of 35 hours flight experience.

By the end of the programme the women could pilot any military aircraft. Although they did not serve in combat roles they did fly crucial missions across the country during World War II, notably flying newly built planes from factories to military air bases. By the end of 1944, the WASPs had ferried more than 12,000 planes including C-47s and P-51s, aircraft used in the D-Day invasion of 6 June, 1944.

After the war Falk Haydu not only continued ferrying aircraft, but was also a flight instructor, flew a comedy air show act and became one of the first women aviation executives when she opened a Cessna dealership in New Jersey. She continued flying until well into her 70s.

She married Joe Haydu in 1951 and had two sons and a daughter. Joe died in 2001.

From 1975 to 1978 she was president of the Order of Fifinella, an alumni group for WASPs. During her tenure WASPs were officially recognised by Congress as veterans.

From 1978 to 1980 she was president of Women Military Aviators. She was one of the three WASPs present in the Oval Office in 2009 when President Barack Obama awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the WASPs for their service.

In June 2018 she received the Silver Service Medallion (given to veterans and those with a direct connection to World War II) from the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. Stephen J. Watson, President & CEO at The National WWII Museum said on this occasion that “Bee Haydu is an American hero and aviation pioneer who served our country with distinction and honour during World War II. She and her fellow Women Air Force Service Pilots broke gender barriers in the military and became role models for the generations of women that followed.”

GERALDINE LE MAIRE IS NAVAL GROUP’S NEW GENERAL SEC.

12 Jan., 2021 — Naval Group has appointed Géraldine Le Maire as its General Secretary to replace Jean-Yves Battesti who has been appointed special advisor to CEO Pierre Éric Pommellet and remains on the executive committee

Le Maire is the second woman on Naval Group’s 10-person executive committee joining HR Director Caroline Chanavas. She will oversee legal and contract management, ethics, compliance and governance, audit and risks, export control and customs, security, the data protection office.

Le Maire comes to Naval Group from Altran Technologies where she had been General Secretary and Group General Counsel since 2017. Prior to that she was General Counsel France for the Publicis Group and had previously held various international legal and compliance positions for Edifice Capital, General Electric Real Estate, Thomson and Archon.

Le Maire started her career in private practice after passing the Paris Bar in 1994.

She earned her LLM in International Business Law from the London School of Economics in 1992.

FIRST FEMALE COMMANDER FOR U.S. AIRCRAFT CARRIER

10 Dec., 2020 — U.S. Navy Captain Amy N. Bauernschmidt is to be the first female commander of an aircraft carrier. Currently the commanding officer of USS San Diego, she was appointed on 7th December to command one of the Navy's 11 nuclear-powered aircraft-carriers. She will be eligible to take up her command between Oct.1, 2021 and Sept. 30, 2022 in what the U.S. calls “fiscal year 2022”.

Bauernschmidt also made history in 2016 when she became the first female executive officer of an aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, where she was second-in-command of a crew of some 5,000.

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she graduated from the Naval Academy in 1994 with a BSc in Ocean Engineering. That was also the first year women were allowed to serve on combat ships and aircraft. In an interview with CBS News in 2018 Bauernschmidt said the law allowing women to serve in combat roles “absolutely changed my life. We were the first class that graduated knowing and feeling honoured with the privilege to be able to go serve along the rest of our comrades in combat.”

Bauernschmidt received her wings as a naval aviator in 1996, then reported to Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron Light (HSL) 45 “Wolfpack” in San Diego. In February 2011, Bauernschmidt reported to the “Seahawks” of HSL-41 as an instructor pilot and quality assurance officer. In 2004 she was selected as aide-de-camp to Commander, Carrier Strike Group 7 and deployed aboard USS John C. Stennis. Since then she has deployed aboard the USS Kitty Hawk and the USS George H.W. Bush.

She took command of Helicopter Maritime Strike (HSM-70 “Spartans”) in June 2011, earning the 2011 Admiral Jimmy Thach and Captain Arnold J. Isbell awards for tactical innovation and excellence and the 2012 Battle Efficiency award.

Between 2102-13 she attend the Naval War College where she gained a Masters in National Security Studies. In 2013 she was the senior military advisor to the U.S. State Department Office of Global Women's Issues.

Bauernschmidt has accumulated more than 3,000 flight hours in naval aircraft.

ISRAEL, INDIA APPOINT FEMALE COMBAT PILOTS

27 Oct., 2020 – The only female F-35 pilot in the Israeli airforce, Flight Lt. S, has been appointed the deputy commander of the 116th “Southern Lions” F-35 stealth fighter squadron. 

The Southern Lions (or Lions of the South depending on your source!) squadron, based in Nevatim, southern Israel, is the country’s second F-35 squadron.

In the photographs released of the 26-year old pilot her face is blurred and her name has been classified. But the IAF said she graduated in December 2016 from the 173rd pilot's course and flew F-16s during her time with the 107th “Knights of the Orange Tail” squadron based at the Hatzerim Airbase.

The IAF said they believed Flight Lt. S is only the second woman to fly the F-35 in combat. The first is thought to be U.S. Air Force Captain Emily “Banzai” Thompson who in early June flew the F-35 out of the Al Dhafra Air Force base in the United Arab Emirates in a combat mission.

Lt. Roni Zuckerman was the first woman pilot (but the fourth to complete the training programme) in the Israeli Air Force, receiving her wings in 2001. It was another four years before a second woman passed the fighter pilot course and since then only one other, Flight Lt. S, has become a combat pilot. In all 38 women have received their pilot's wings : 3 combat pilots, 16 combat navigators, 7 helicopter pilots and 12 cargo pilots.

Flight Lt. Yifat (her first name) was the first woman to be appointed deputy squadron leader in 2007 whilst Lt. Colonel Gimel (the letter G in Hebrew and the first initial of her name) was appointed in September 2019 as the first female flight squadron leader. The 35-yr old mother of two is a transport aircraft pilot.

Meanwhile, in India:

Flight Lt. Shivangi Singh will be the first female fighter pilot in India to fly the Rafale, India's newest fighter aircraft, inducted into the force in September at the Ambala base, writes Snehesh Alex Philip in The Print. Singh was commissioned into the Indian Air Force in 2017 and is currently flying a MiG-21 Bison, the oldest combat aircraft in the force! Singh is a graduate of the Banaras Hindu University.

GERMANY MAY FEMINISE MILITARY RANK NAMES

11 Sept. 2020 – According to the Guardian newspaper, Germany is considering introducing feminine forms for military ranks 20 years after women gained the right to join the Bundeswehr.

The army has resisted using the feminine form even after women gained the right to join in 2000. A female captain in the Bundeswehr is addressed as Frau Hauptmann, the equivalent of “Mrs Captain”.

But the defence minister, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, is now mulling the phasing in of feminine forms for military ranks, such as Majorin and Leutnantin, according to Die Welt.

Such a move would follow the usage in the German language, where occupations usually go with the grammatically masculine form of the noun, but if the job is carried out by a woman, the job title is feminised by adding the suffix “in”, so a male bus driver is der Busfahrer and a female bus driver is die Busfahrerin.

Some ranks, including Oberst – colonel – however, would stay in the generic masculine form, said the report, citing a white paper that it said the minister would decide on next Tuesday. The German defence ministry would not confirm the report.

The Bundeswehr opened its ranks to women only after Tanja Kreil brought a case before the European court of justice in 2000. A trained electrician, Kreil argued her application to the Bundeswehr was rejected not because of her qualifications but because of her gender.

Women now make up about 12% of army personnel. Eva Högl, the German parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces, told Süddeutsche Zeitung on Friday that “a 30% share of women in the Bundeswehr would be good for the troops”, but that female recruits were “currently not everywhere respected equally”.

Some female soldiers criticised the proposed change on social media. Wiebke Hönicke, a lieutenant who used the masculine form to describe her rank, said in a post on Instagram: “Gender equality for me means that military rank doesn’t differentiate between genders, but that it is about the same rights and duties.”

FIRST FEMALE DIRECTOR OF FRANCE’S EETAA

7 Sept. 2020 - Colonel Diane Géribaldi took command on 3rd September of the French Air Force'sTechnical Training School known by it's French acronym EETAA ( École d'enseignement technique de l'Armée de l'air) on Air Base 722 in Saintes, north of Bordeaux. She is the first female director of the school since it was founded in 1949.

A graduate of the French Air Force College, class of 2000, and also of Paris School of Political Science where she studied international relations, Dian Géribaldi, 42, has been deployed several times on theatres abroad, notably in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon.

FEMALE BRITISH ARMY OFFICER WINS PARATROOP WINGS

19 Feb., 2020 - Captain Rosie Wild, 28, a competitive triathlete, has become the first female British Army officer to win her paratroop wings after successfully completing the All Arms Pre-Parachute Selection (AAPPS) test to the Parachute Regiment. She was awarded the Regiment's maroon beret yesterday at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire although she will not, in fact, be joining the regiment. She has instead opted to serve in the 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery which is attached to 16 Air Assault Brigade, the British Army's rapid reaction force.

Several women before her had attempted to complete the 21-week AAPPS course since the 1990s when it was first opened to women. The five-day final test includes eight physical challenges: marching 16km whilst carrying a 16kg backpack in under 110 minutes; marching 32km with a backpack and rifle in under four hours and 10 minutes; completing an aerial assault course designed to test a candidate's ability to overcome fear; carrying a 60kg telegraph pole with seven other soldiers over a distance of 3.1km; running 3.2km in under 18 minutes carrying a backpack and rifle; completing a 3.5km cross-country run followed by an assault course; carrying a 79kg stretcher for more than 8km as part of a team of 16 soldiers; and “milling” which is a boxing contest (or “controlled physical agression”) in which soldiers face an opponent of similar height and weight to themselves and have points deduced for dodging or blocking punches.

Captain Wild joined the British Army three years ago. When she completed her initial training at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst in 2017, she was presented with the sword of honour, given to the best cadet of the intake.

SWEDEN APPOINTS FIRST FEMALE CHIEF OF NAVY

4 Feb., 2020 — Sweden has a new Chief of Navy: Rear Admiral Ewa Skoog Haslum, the first woman ever appointed in this role. She took up her new assignment on Feb. 1.

Admiral Skoog Haslum was previously a commander of Sweden's 4th Naval Warfare Flotilla, the navy's rapid-response unit, and was, until her new assignment, vice-chancellor of the Swedish National Defence College.

Born on 26 March 1968 in Hov Parish, Kristianstad County, Sweden, she began her career in 1987 as a radio telegraphist on board HSwMS Stockholm. She was commissioned as a naval officer in the 2nd Surface Warfare Flotilla in 1990 with the rank of acting sub-lieutenant. She was promoted to sub-lieutenant in 1993 and to lieutenant in 1995.

She spent a semester of 2007 as commander of the HSwMS Sundsvall corvette in the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force (MTF) patrolling the coast of Lebanon on anti-terrorist missions.

For a month every year from 2010 to 2017, Admiral Skoog Haslum served as Aide-de-camp to Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden.

She started at the Swedish Defence University on 1 December 2016 and became the new vice-chancellor of the university in early 2017. As such she was the University’s highest military representative, playing an important role in its development and responsible for collaboration with foreign defence colleges. The vice-chancellor also acts as exercise leader in major exercises. On 11 December 2019, she was appointed Chief of Navy.

The Admiral is married and has two sons.

In an interview with Newsweek in November 2015, Skoog Haslum is described as “a tough commander who dismisses notions of female solidarity.” The article says that she told the Swedish daily, Svenska Dagbladet, that she "doesn't have a need for female companionship", neither on the ship nor in civilian life, adding that she is "not interested in the female networks [in the armed forces].''

Retired navy captain Göran Frisk, Sweden's top submarine hunter during the final decade of the Cold War, is quoted in the article as saying: “Ewa is robust, stable and knows what she wants. She's a knowledgeable and versatile naval officer, and was an excellent ship commander. She's also very compassionate towards her crew and subordinate officer, and is a good leader at sea."

WOMEN AND MOTHERHOOD IN THE ARMED FORCES

28 Jan., 2020 — Last week a Lt. Commander from the Royal Navy, Carrie, and a Lt. Colonel from the French Air Force, Caroline (an unwitting coincidence in first names!) were the speakers at a seminar organised in the framework of the British Council in Paris' “Women in Perspective” series. 

The seminar was supposed to centre on what women have brought to the armed forces, but it could have been re-named “motherhood and the armed forces”!

Both women talked about the difficulties not only of recruiting women, but then of keeping them, although Carrie pointed out that the Royal Navy, where 10% of the personnel are female (14% for the French Navy), is now “actively recruiting anyone.” She pointed out that in 2018 “we were losing less women in the navy than we were men.”

Caroline was still a little indignant when she recalled how she used to “get questions when I was younger about whether I was planning to have babies.” But, she stressed, “going on maternity leave is just like being away on a mission: you're away from your desk for a certain number of weeks, your workmates deal with it, and then you come back.” She said nobody questioned the necessity to re-arrange work when a colleague was away on a mission, so why should being away on maternity leave be any different? “I was still reachable by phone and e-mail because it was important for me to keep the link,” she said.

Both women are married and have children. Carrie's husband, who used to be in the navy, resigned “because he thought it was better for the family.” We all laughed sympathetically when she said that one of the hardest things for a woman to learn is to “let go” when the father is the stay-at-home parent and to accept that his way of doing things might not be yours (“he'll buy a birthday cake whereas I would have made it”!). “It's hard to admit that Daddy knows best!” she smiled.

Caroline's husband is still in the military. She cheerfully admits that she “wouldn't have had the same career without my husband.” He is a non-commissioned officer so “has more responsibilities for child-rearing.” Whilst she is attending War College in Paris, “he's entirely responsible” for the children down at their home in the south-west of France.

There was a bit of discussion about what the armed forces provides for parents but both British and French women, both speakers and audience, agreed that it was a real shame that much of the discussion on women in the armed forces centres on their role as mothers. And as one woman in the audience put it “there are quite a few women in the armed forces who are not mothers and we need to pay attention to them too.”

Unfortunately the seminar was poorly advertised and clashed with Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly's “New Year good wishes to the armed forces” ceremony so attendance at the seminar was, how shall I put it, a little thin on the ground.

But the advantage of having few people present was that it allowed for a real exchange between speakers and the audience. People feel less shy when they can engage in eye contact with everyone in the room!

FIRST FEMALE DEFENCE MINISTER FOR U.K.

2 May, 2019 — Penny Mordaunt, 46, today became the U.K.'s first female defence secretary and the 10th European female defence minister. She was appointed after Gavin Williamson was sacked by Prime Minister Theresa May.

Mordaunt had already been considered a front runner for the post in 2017 when Michael Fallon had to leave, but Williamson got the job instead. Mordaunt, a staunch pro-Brexiter, was previously international development secretary and has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Portsmouth North since 2010.

She is a navy reservist (and revealed in her maiden speech to Parliament in June 2010 that she had been named Penelope by her paratrooper father and special-needs-teacher mother in honour of the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Penelope.) “I point out to my critics that HMS Penelope latterly became known as HMS Pepperpot because of her ability to endure massive amounts of shelling and reamin afloat and able to return fire,” she added.

Mordaunt served as an armed forces minister under David Cameron. Somewhat confusingly there are several ministers in the U.K.'s Ministry of Defence. The Secretary of State for defence is the overall defence minister: that's the job that Mordaunt has just been given. Then there is the Minister of State for Defence (Earl Howe) who is not only the department spokesman in the House of Lords but has wide responsibilities ranging from relations with the EU to arms control. Then there is the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (currently Mark Lancaster) who is responsible for operations, recruitment and cyber amongst a host of other things. Then there is the Parliamentaery Under-Secretary of State for Defence People and Veterans (currently Tobias Ellwood) who is responsible for veterans, armed forces pay and pensions, welfare and service families etc. Finally there is the Minister for Defence Procurement (currently Stuart Andrew), whose job, for once, is self-explanatory!

Mordaunt studied philosophy at Reading University.

She joins an increasingly long list of female European defence ministers:

Dr Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen, Germany's first female defence minister has been in her job since 15 December 2013. Incidentally, she has 7 children!

Marina Pendeš has served as Bosnia and Herzegovina's defence minister since 31 March 2015.

Radmila Šekerinska in North Macedonia, was appointed to her job on 1 June 2017.

Florence Parly in France has held her post since 21 June 2017.

Olga Xhaçka in Albania has held her post since 11 September 2017

Anna “Ank”Bijleveld in the Netherlands has held her post since 26 October 2017.

Elisabetta Trenta in Italy has been Defence Minister since 1 June 2018.

Margarita Robles in Spain was appointed on 7 June 2018.

Vila Amherd has been Switzerland's Defence minister since 1 January 2019

FRANCE APPOINTS SECOND EVER FEMALE MAJOR-GENERAL

27 March, 2019 — Christine Chaulieu, who is portrayed on Wombat-womenincombat, will become France’s second female army major-general on 13 August 2019, 28 years after the first woman gained her three stars. That was Louise Coppolani on 1 August 1991.

FRANCE’S PLAN FOR GENDER EQUALITY

7 March, 2019 — “Heroism has no sex and talent has no gender. It should be neither an advantage, nor a handicap to be a woman.” So French Secretary of State for the Armed Forces, Geneviève Darrieussecq, smartly summed up the aims of the gender equality plan, known in French as “plan mixité”, revealed today just prior to International Women's Day.

“Nobody thinks it's easy for a woman to have a career in the armed forces,” said Florence Parly, Armed Forces Minister, at the press conference where she presented the plan together with Darrieussecq. “But gender equality is everybody's business so we must act together, be pragmatic and find the means, the tools to help women.” There were three objectives to her plan, she said. Firstly, to make young women want to sign-up. Secondly, to ensure that those who do, then stay. “We have a quicker, more significant rate of evaporation amongst women than men. So we must introduce some flexibility in our rules because it's up to us to adapt,” Parly remarked. And thirdly, to address the misgivings that potential female candidates may have by enhancing the image of women already in the armed forceThe plan, with its 22 concrete measures, is the result of eight months of work. The measures will benefit all ranks, men and women, and is coherent with their military status ,the operational objectives of the armed forces, and avoids positive discrimination or reintroducing quotas (banned in 1998).

The French armed forces are the fourth most feminised in the world (after Israel, Hungary and the United States) with 32,012 serving personnel representing 15.5% of the total. But just 6.7% of French generals are women. The Air Force has the highest number of women (22.5%), followed by the Navy (14%) and the Army (10%). But as Vice Admiral Stanislas de la Motte, Major general of the Navy, pointed out: “Of the 5,400 women in the navy, only 25% serve on ships even though 68 of our vessels now have a mixed crew.” And, he added, “there is a very net deficit in the numbers of women after 12 years of service because they find it difficult to conciliate their personal lives with their professional ones.” He said that by 2030 the Navy aimed to have 21% female personnel.

Air Marshal Alain Ferran, Human Resources director for the Air Force said that “the position of women is being asserted every year” and that in 2019 three air bases would be commanded by women, including the major air base 106 at Bordeaux-Mérignac.

Army Chief of Staff General Jean-Pierre Bosser said he thought the increasing role played by high technology would open up more roles for women in the army but stressed that the army had a “deliberate, if measured, strategy for recruiting more women but not at the cost of jeopardising our operational finality.”

Every unit in every force is open to women, including submarines and the Foreign Legion. But as Bosser smiled: “we have no women in the Foreign Legion because none apply!” There has actually been one woman Foreign Legionnaire to date: Susan Travers (1909-2003), a British citizen, who distinguished herself in battle during the Second World War, notably in Africa. One of the unresolved discussions, held with the armies' health service and the national defence sports centre (CNSD), has been about the physical aptitude tests. “The assault course was designed when there were only men and so the height of the walls, for example, don't take account of smaller women, or even smaller men. Boys think that the sports tests should be the same for everyone but that's not the case in professional sports,” remarked Bosser.

Even if France ranks 4thfor the feminisation of its armed forces, the proportion of women has been stagnating since 2008 and there are few female officers who reach the highest echelons as they tend to leave the army eight years earlier than their male colleagues. “The entrance exams for the War College, which is mandatory for any senior officer, is aimed at personnel of a certain age. And that tends to coincide with the period at which many young women want to start a family. So, de facto, it excludes them,” Parly said. 

Amongst the 22 measures, six stand out:

• To stop recruiting only those with a science background to become officers.

• To ensure a better life/work balance and thus stop women from leaving altogether or turning to administrative and support jobs. 

• To havevoluntary and experienced mentors to help with career management for all thosewho would like one. 

• To ease the conditions for registering forexams, notably those to get intothe War College; allowing five years between the written and oral exams so that parental leave can be taken; taking account of experience outside the military (such as an MBA).

• To introduce “gender equality” officers in every base and regiment

• To have more women in senior ranks by ensuring that 10% at least of the 150-200 officers who get into the War College every year are women. The objective is that by 2022 10% of generals will be female and by 2025 that number is doubled. But as Parly said “it takes 30 years to make a general so it will take time to improve on these numbers.”

Other, practical measures will be introduced to make day-to-day work easier, such as not scheduling meetings before 9 a.m. or after 6 p.m.; not organising seminars in the first two weeks of September just after school has started; and so on.

You can download the detailed list of measures (in French) here:

https://www.defense.gouv.fr/actualites/articles/le-plan-mixite-du-ministere-des-armees-y-aller-y-rester-y-evoluer

Edmondson appointed to U.S. Air Force Academy

17 Dec. 2018 — Brig. Gen. Michele Edmondson has been appointed as the U.S. Air Force Academy’s next commandant of cadets.