ANG’s Lt Kelsey Flannery Takes F-35A Fighter To The Skies
The United States’ Air National Guard’s 1st Lieutenant Kelsey Flannery took to the skies earlier this month piloting a F-35A Lightning II fighter jet, having recently completed three years of training with the Vermont National Guard.
Lt Flannery is a member of the 134th Fighter Squadron that has a long history and strong reputation going all the way back to WW II, and sees the importance of retaining that heritage. On the topic of heritage, Lt Flannery comes from a military family, where her father previously served as a pilot in the US Air Force.
Allegedly, some heritage not worth retaining is excluding personnel who are representative of our community and meet the established standards of excellence and integrity to serve where needed. Women have been “officially” flying combat aircraft for just under 30 years having been granted that access in 1993, thanks to the trails blazed by other female aviators, a fact not entirely lost on Lt Flannery who stated “there’s definitely been a trail blazed already.
I’m really grateful to the women who have done that”. As a sign of evolution in the unit, Lt. Flannery stated that her being “the first female to pilot a F-35," was never a thing, nobody brought it up, and “I feel very much like an equal here. People just treat me like a wingman, and its great as it allows me to focus more on flying”.
Women still make up less than 7% of the overall pilot population, and that ‘number’ is even smaller in the military, and so, potentially, these rarities should be celebrated and thereby demonstrate to the next generation that there is a place for them in this space, or wherever they see others like them. Its’ been said more than once that “the airplane does not care about your gender.
As long as you don’t violate the laws of physics or aerodynamics, you’ll be fine”. Some may not wish to believe it, but representation does matter, and seeing is believing. That said, the adults and youth who are still “falling into aviation” because they never “saw themselves in those roles,” should be encouraged.
There are many organizations out there that seek to inspire, and maybe, other women may see a chance to change the course of their life as well.
Several organizations exist whose mission is to get women into the aerospace community; Civil Air Patrol, the Ninety-Nines, Women In Aviation, and a host of others. So get connected and see what’s out there for you and your young ones, there is something for everyone!
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