Posted on 03/22/2006 12:25:42 PM PST by A.A. Cunningham
VMM-263 Marine makes historic flight
Submitted by: MCAS New River
Story Identification #: 2006322112221
Story by Lance Cpl. Jonathan A. Tabb
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. (March 22, 2006) -- Each day Marines around the world make history. One pilot with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 made history March 13 when she became the first female ever to pilot the MV-22 Osprey.
Captain Elizabeth A. Okoreeh-Baah spent the first five and a half years of her career in the Marine Corps as a CH-46E “Sea Knight” pilot, but when Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron-263 began transitioning to the Osprey Program while she was stationed there, she became one of the first female pilots to begin training on the controls of the tiltrotor aircraft.
“She was the first female selected on the V-22 transition conversion board and out of sheer fate, she’s here, she’s in the pipeline going through the syllabus and she’s passed everything so far with flying colors,” said Col. Joel P. Kane, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron-204 commanding officer.
Okoreeh-Baah spent her first three months with VMMT-204 training on the flight simulators at Marine Aircrew Training Systems Squadron.
“All her ground school and all her simulator flights have gone spectacularly,” said Kane. “After she completes her co-pilot’s syllabus, it’ll be nine months to a year before she’s a certified Osprey pilot.”
Okoreeh-Baah said her decision to become one of the few and the proud is a direct result of living in Memphis, Tenn., and attending a very small high school.
“I went out to different schools pretty often because my school was so small. The influences I got were mostly from seeing all the people around who had been in the Army,” Okoreeh-Baah explained. “At one time they had good plans; they were professional, but they just didn’t do anything with themselves. They lacked drive. I think that’s why the Corps appealed to me so much.”
Okoreeh-Baah said that while she was greatly influenced by outside sources, her family was also very encouraging throughout her life.
“She’s going to go a long way because she never quits. She can succeed at anything she puts her mind to,” said Okoreeh-Baah’s father, Isaac K. Okoreeh-Baah Sr., a native of Ghana, North Africa. “She gets that from me, I think.”
After meeting the Marine recruiters and noticing they were the only ones who showed up on time, Okoreeh-Baah made her decision and signed up for enlistment through the Delayed Entry Program.
Okoreeh-Baah said her parents were strongly against her enlisting and wanted her to do something that wouldn’t put her in harm’s way.
“My parents called the captain in charge of my recruiting station told him they didn’t want me going. They wanted me to go to Yale and not do anything that might put me in danger,” she explained. “The captain was a graduate of the Naval Academy and after talking to him, my parents got on board and were able to sell me on the Naval Academy being just like the Marine Corps, except I could get my education.”
After arriving at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Okoreeh-Baah said her urge to be a Marine was heightened greatly.
“It became very evident that the only leaders who had a consistent influence on my growth at the Academy were Marine Corps officers,” she explained. “The Marine instructors are the ones who made a real difference in my life.”
Okoreeh-Baah said she doesn’t know exactly what her future holds, but she’s sure her experiences in the Corps will help her with everything she does in life.
“It’s a whole new world, a whole new military. I’d love to have my own squadron but there’s no set path because I’m not even a co-pilot yet,” she said. “I would also like to be an instructor one day.”
I'm proud to have her as a fellow alumus of USNA. The women the academy select for appointment are well motivated in addition to being superior in leadership, academics and competence. I would have been happy to have a qualified GIB (Gal in Back) be my WSO (or Navigator in the level bomber) in the 'way back when.
Very cool story -- thanks for the post. Only in America....
When is she going to be flying it?
Description: The V-22 Osprey is a multi-engine, dual-piloted, self-deployable, medium lift, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) tiltrotor aircraft designed for combat, combat support, combat service support, and Special Operations missions worldwide. It will replace the Corps' aged fleet of CH-46E and CH-53D medium lift helicopters. Features: Weapon System Data Sheet System: MV-22 Osprey Mission: Marine Corps Assault Support
This is from the article:
“After she completes her co-pilot’s syllabus, it’ll be nine months to a year before she’s a certified Osprey pilot.”
Did you ask those same questions when she was flying her CH-46 in combat?
SpankenTruppen ping
WM ping.
God bless her and the photographer, too.
Thanks for the ping.
As a woman she is not suppose to be flying anything into combat.
So, training her on a combat helo is going to accomplish what?
Well, since she is a woman, she is not allowed by law to be flying combat helo's into actual combat.
Are you sure you know what you're talking about? I'm not aware of any law like this. And in fact women frequently fly all types of aircraft into combat.
Incorrect. You haven't been paying attention. Very few MOSs, mostly infantry, remain closed to females. Quite a few women have flown in combat since the restriction was lifted by Congress when it passed Public Law 102-190 in December of 1991 and the DoD ban was lifted by Les Aspin on 28 April 1993.
H.R.2100
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 (Engrossed Amendment as Agreed to by Senate)
SEC. 530. AUTHORIZATION FOR THE ASSIGNMENT OF FEMALE MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES TO DUTY IN COMBAT AIRCRAFT.
(a) ARMY- (1) Chapter 343 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
` 3549. Duties: female members; combat duty
`The Secretary of the Army may prescribe the conditions under which female members of the Army may be assigned to duty in aircraft that are engaged in combat missions.'.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding after the item relating to section 3548 the following new item:
`3549. Duties: female members; combat duty.'.
(b) NAVY AND MARINE CORPS- Section 6015 of title 10, United States Code, is amended in the third sentence--
(1) by inserting `(a)' before the first sentence;
(2) by striking out `or in aircraft';
(3) by inserting `(other than as aviation officers as part of an air wing or other air element assigned to such a vessel)' after `combat missions';
(4) by inserting `other' after `temporary duty on'; and
(5) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
`(b) The Secretary of the Navy may prescribe the conditions under which female members of the Navy and Marine Corps may be assigned to duty in aircraft that are engaged in combat missions.'.
(c) AIR FORCE- (1) Section 8549 of title 10, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
` 8549. Duties: female members; combat duty
`The Secretary of the Air Force may prescribe the conditions under which female members of the Air Force may be assigned to duty in aircraft that are engaged in combat missions.'.
(2) The item relating to section 8549 in table of sections at the beginning of chapter 843 of such title is amended to read as follows:
`8549. Duties: female members; combat duty.'.
(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION- This section shall be construed only as an expression of an intent of Congress to permit the assignment of female personnel of the Armed Forces of the United States to duty in aircraft that are engaged in combat missions.
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE- This section and the amendments made by this section shall take effect on October 1, 1991.
SEC. 530A. AUTHORITY TO WAIVE COMBAT EXCLUSION LAWS.
(a) COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS REQUIRED- The Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces, established under section 521, shall conduct comprehensive research and analyses regarding the potential for women in the Armed Forces to serve in combat positions.
(b) INFORMATION NEEDS TO BE DEFINED- The Commission, as a priority matter, shall determine the types of information necessary for its research and analysis that can best be obtained through the assignment of women to combat positions on a test basis.
(c) NOTIFICATION OF SECRETARY OF DEFENSE REGARDING INFORMATION NEEDS- The Commission shall promptly advise the Secretary of Defense of its needs for information determined pursuant to subsection (b). The Commission may request that the Secretary of Defense require the assignment of women to combat positions on a test basis in order to develop that information.
(d) WAIVER AUTHORITY- The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Commission, may conduct test assignments of women to combat positions and may waive sections 6015 and 8549 of title 10, United States Code, and any other restriction that applies under Department of Defense regulations or policies to the assignment of women to combat positions in order to conduct such test assignments.
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