Posted on 09/26/2018 5:27:06 AM PDT by metmom
For Maj. Christina Hopper, the first black female pilot to fly a fighter jet in war, the military was a place of diversity unlike any other.
Maj. Christina Hopper’s family is about as military as it gets. The legacy of service in her family made being a military brat a key part of her identity. Born in Norway while both her parents were stationed there with the Air Force, Hopper didn’t move to the United States until she was 4 years old.
Her trajectory, following in her parents’ footsteps to the military, was normal, expected almost. But Hopper’s story deviates from the typical military brat-turned service member in that she didn’t only join the Air Force, she became the first black female pilot to fly a fighter jet in combat. And although Hopper is considered a trailblazer, she told Task & Purpose that she felt like one of the crew from day one, and that the uniform always came before race and gender.
An Iraq War veteran, Hopper separated from the active-duty Air Force in 2008 with almost 1,000 hours in the F-16. Today, she is a mother of three, military spouse, and continues to serve in the Air Force Reserve as a T-38 instructor, where she trains the next generation of fighter and bomber pilots. Hopper continues to enhance her legacy through the “Vance Supergirls,” a mentorship group for female aviators.
Recently, she sat down with Task & Purpose to talk about her inspiring journey and the challenges she faced in her military career.
(Excerpt) Read more at taskandpurpose.com ...
Anyone who can fly an F-16, deserves respect. I doubt many of us could do it. My son will soon enter USAF RPA pilot training, but there are only two aircraft in the USAF inventory that he can fly.
So... which male pilot puts himself at risk to cover her ass in a dogfight...?
Women do NOT belong in combat.
End of story.
A good friend of mine from my ROTC days went to flight school and ended up flying the KC-10 tankers. He was so tall that his sitting height placed his head above the canopy piercer so he could not fly fighters.
Even that is wrong.
Wrong location.
My sister kept the fighters in working order.
Pollard wrote:
Not quite black imho.
Well, fortunately, you’re opinion isn’t the end all/be all.
I’m a Caucasian skinned dude with Sickle Cell. Am I “not quite black”? Yup. But I’m also “not quite white”.
I’m what’s called, a Human. We’re a mix of different ethnic groups, but we’re all the same on the inside.
Good for her. I preferred to be inside, out of the elements. I remember six people, 5 men and one woman, who cross trained into air traffic control, from the aircraft maintenance field. Three of them did ok, and the other three, including the black female, washed out, and were returned to their maintenance jobs. I am sure they were good at fixing aircraft, they just couldn’t figure out how to control them. 😁 Not everyone is cut out for it. Sometimes I wondered if I was. 🤔
? Software for The F-16 FBW ?
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