Kelly Flinn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lieutenant Kelly Flinn (b. December 23, 1970, St. Louis, Missouri) was the first female B-52 pilot.
She was unfortunately also the subject of an exposé involving sexual discrimination within the United States Air Force. As a youth she moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and ultimately decided to become a pilot after attending Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama.
Contents |
[edit] Academy
On June 29, 1989 Flinn was accepted by both the United States Air Force Academy and the Naval Academy, with nominations from Senator Sam Nunn and Congressman George "Buddy" Darden, choosing to enter the Air Force as a member of the Class of 1993.
Considered by her Air Officer Commanding ("AOC") to be one of the top cadets at the academy, Flinn was active in many cadet programs, and was selected for an overseas Operation Air Force program, spending the summer of 1991 at Kunsan Air Base in Korea. She was further selected during her senior year to participate in an international exchange program with L'École de l'Air (the French Air Force Academy). Eight cadets are selected every year for this program, becoming provisional ambassadors to France, attending L'École de l'Air and participating in its programs. Flinn flew the Cap-10 and received French jump wings.
[edit] Pilot training
Flinn entered Undergraduate Pilot Training on January 24, 1994 at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, and later attended water survival training and the Combined Services Support Program at Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Florida. In early 1995, Flinn worked in the Wing Scheduling Office back at Columbus AFB, organizing air show information, as well as coordinating Emergency Procedures Training for NASA.
In April 1995, Flinn began B-52 training at Barksdale Air Force Base, in Louisiana, received the highest possible scores on all evaluations (including flight evaluations), and was titled as a distinguished graduate of her class.
[edit] Post-training
Later that October, Flinn was a delegate to the 1995 Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Service conference at Luke Air Force Base, she spoke to several national military leaders, including the Air Force Chief of Staff and the Secretary of the Air Force on policies in the Air Force concerning women in combat.
[edit] Missions
Arriving at Minot AFB, North Dakota, in October 1995, Flinn was mission-qualified for the B-52H Stratofortress by December, as the deputy commander, planning and executing all aspects of B-52 operations, including conventional and nuclear combat training. Lt. Flinn participated in various missions, including Hornet's Nest, Global Guardian, Bulwark Bronze, Statex, Green Flag, NORI, and CORI. Selected to demonstrate B-52H power projection capabilities to the Secretary of the Air Force, Lt. Flinn flew on a Global Power long-range airstrike during an international exercise, and participated at air shows at Andrews Air Force Base.
During her deployment to Red Flag exercises at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Lt. Flinn was selected as the overall package mission commander [citation needed] was the actual package commander. Her job would have been to do the com sheet (the normal job for a co-pilot), coordinating a strike plan for a multinational group of over 50 aircraft, and was selected as the Minot AFB Company Grade Officer. Afterwards, she was due to become a STAN/EVAL co-pilot, but became grounded after facing military charges of adultery.
[edit] Charged
Lt. Flinn faced court-martial on May 20, 1997 for military charges of adultery with Marc Zigo (not his true name), a soccer coach at Minot AFB who was married to a female enlisted subordinate, Gayla Zigo; conduct unbecoming an officer; disobeying a lawful order (in writing, to stay away from Zigo) and making a false official statement.
Flinn's case, due to her high visibility in Air Force recruitment advertisements, as well as the number of her accomplishments during her eight years in the service, drew national attention, eventually creating a media circus. She was allowed to resign from the Air Force to avoid court-martial, whereas the Air Force faced criticism for giving her an uncharacterized (neutral), rather than dishonorable, discharge.
She wrote a book Proud to Be: My Life, The Air Force, The Controversy (ISBN 0-7567-5753-3, ISBN 0-375-50109-6) giving her side of the story regarding her experiences.
