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Female Pilots Get Their Shot in the Iraqi Skies Men Say Women Are Proving Skills in Direct Combat
The Washington Post ^ | February 27, 2006 | By Ann Scott Tyson, Washington Post Staff Writer

Posted on 02/27/2006 5:39:04 AM PST by aculeus

TALL AFAR, Iraq -- Buzzing over this northern Iraqi city in her Kiowa scout helicopter, a .50-caliber machine gun and rockets at the ready, Capt. Sarah Piro has proved so skillful in combat missions to support U.S. ground troops that she's earned the nickname "Saint."

In recent months of fighting in Tall Afar, Piro, 26, of El Dorado Hills, Calif., has quietly sleuthed out targets, laid down suppressive fire for GIs in battle and chased insurgents through the narrow alleys of this medieval city -- maneuvering all the while to avoid being shot out of the sky. In one incident, she limped back to base in a bullet-riddled helicopter, ran to another aircraft and returned to the fight 10 minutes later.

"They call her 'Saint Piro' -- she's just that good," said her co-pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Todd Buckhouse, a 19-year Army veteran who has worked with Piro on two tours with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Iraq.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News
KEYWORDS: cas; chixngunzroxor; iraq; militarywomen; oif; tallafar
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To: Last Dakotan
"Sadly though, her story and others like this are being used as propaganda pieces by the feminist agenda."

Only by the left but what do you expect? why the surpise?

61 posted on 02/27/2006 9:38:34 AM PST by Kelly_2000 ( Because they stand on a wall and say nothing is going to hurt you tonight. Not on my watch)
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To: aculeus

62 posted on 02/27/2006 9:39:57 AM PST by DM1
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To: Last Dakotan

"No doubt your a fan of the current crop of Hollywood movies where one svelte woman beats the crap out of twenty guys in a fight."You noticed that too?It's become chronic.You see males(wm's in particular)portrayed as stupid,bigoted,sexist,cowardly,etc,etc.There may be one male who is the antithisis of the above description,but he's usually a lib.More Hollyweird propaganda.


63 posted on 02/27/2006 9:41:51 AM PST by Thombo2
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To: Incorrigible
And they don't just fly, they drive HUMVEES and more:

 

 

Above photo from this great thread: More Photos of my soldier in Iraq (Lots of photos)
 

 

 

64 posted on 02/27/2006 9:42:40 AM PST by Incorrigible (If I lead, follow me; If I pause, push me; If I retreat, kill me.)
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To: Incorrigible
And they drive big rigs!

Women of Bravo Company Take a Back Seat to No One

 

 

 

65 posted on 02/27/2006 9:55:15 AM PST by Incorrigible (If I lead, follow me; If I pause, push me; If I retreat, kill me.)
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To: Kelly_2000

You know what, if she can fly ANVIS 6's, if she can kick in some pedal and do an RTT, if she can maintain an OGE hover when her available power is nil, lay down suppressive fire, hit something with her rockets instead of skipping them through the target area, cover my six, kill as many bad guys as her .50 cal will allow and stand last in line for chow then she gets my vote. If she balls it up and she is the only one able to pull my burning body from the wreckage then she better be ready to haul what the weight and balance on file says is the weight of the average crewman. We use to figure ours at 280 (gear included, extraction gear, body armor, flight vest and supplies in the back). Does she look like she could haul 280 lbs away from a burning airplane?


66 posted on 02/27/2006 9:59:12 AM PST by superfries
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To: cll
Kiowa Warrior is armed with the pod mounted XM296. Think of a remotely fired Ma Deuce.
67 posted on 02/27/2006 10:23:19 AM PST by A.A. Cunningham
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To: GOP_Party_Animal

And none of your post to which I responded, about women in the military "damaging our culture" had anything to do with combat either.

And the snide little cutesie about "hysteria"...Stop being patronizing. It demeans any suggestion that you "appreciate my service". Much less that of Sarah Piro's, a true combat hero. Now, you are off my scope.


68 posted on 02/27/2006 10:41:28 AM PST by silverleaf (Fasten your seat belts- it's going to be a BUMPY ride.)
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To: A.A. Cunningham

You live and learn. I used to fly UH-60's and we always joked that the 58's could barely carry two pilots.


69 posted on 02/27/2006 10:44:43 AM PST by cll
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To: Bon mots
Where were they when people were being shot down?

Here, for example.

70 posted on 02/27/2006 10:45:28 AM PST by dighton
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To: Kelly_2000
I can out shoot my husband on the pistol range and he is a former marine.

While I have no reason to doubt your veracity, there's a big, big difference between range shooting and combat shooting because of the effects of adrenalin. The closest that sport shooting comes to the physiological environment of combat is the biathlon.

And there, women are held to, and compete at, a different standard than men. For example, the Women's Pursuit event is only 10km, while the Men's Pursuit is 12.5km. What's more, the men on average finish about 10% faster than the women in spite of the the additional 25% distance, reflecting both skiing and shooting performance (a miss translates to an extra 150m of skiing distance). This is also evident when looking at shooting averages of the various athletes (especially offhand).

71 posted on 02/27/2006 11:21:42 AM PST by HolgerDansk ("Oh Bother", said Pooh, as he worked the bolt.)
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To: hocndoc
Come on - remember racially segregated units?

This is an apples-oranges comparison. The physiological differences between men of different races are negligible, and relevant-to-combat differences nonexistent. The differences between men and women, however, are considerable; moreover those differences have relevance in combat situations. The current system acknowleges those differences in differing physical fitness standards for men and women.

I do agree that women should meet the same physical strength and other requirements that are required of the men.

This is a contradition with your apples-oranges comparison. If in fact women were held to the same standard, far fewer women would qualify, because there's at least one standard deviation of difference -- which is why there are different standards.

72 posted on 02/27/2006 11:32:39 AM PST by HolgerDansk ("Oh Bother", said Pooh, as he worked the bolt.)
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To: Thombo2
More Hollyweird propaganda.

It has been decided somewhere that every combat brigade or pilot corp will from now on "look like America".

73 posted on 02/27/2006 11:33:31 AM PST by Last Dakotan
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To: GOP_Party_Animal

Hell, she can't go in the CHU, even for perfectly innocuous reasons. She can't because no female can be in male quarters (and vice versa) because anyone who is in the opposite sexes quarters for hanky panky is violating theater general order #1 and commands are forbidding opposite sex visitation just to safeguard against accusations. There are 100 reasons against gender integration in the military, but many Freepers won't listen.


74 posted on 02/27/2006 11:42:06 AM PST by 91B (God made man, Sam Colt made men equal.)
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To: silverleaf
I'm amazed that you would post that to me. LOL, I am a retired FEMALE military intelligence officer and I know of at least two RAF pilots who are alive today because of my work in joint commaned during DESERT STORM.

Did your work involve pulling the bodies of the RAF pilots out of the wreckage? No? Then you're not really responding to the post that you're so amazed with.

Back to the 50's, right? Or whatever era you figure was better. Before women got the vote perhaps?

What's with the ad hominem attack?

75 posted on 02/27/2006 11:42:13 AM PST by HolgerDansk ("Oh Bother", said Pooh, as he worked the bolt.)
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To: aculeus

I'd ride with these four any day.

76 posted on 02/27/2006 11:44:32 AM PST by devane617 (The truth, not politics, is right for our beautiful America.)
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To: devane617
Post another picture of four burley dudes. Now imagine the aircraft has been brought down by a Stinger and your companions must pull you out of the wreckage and defend your broken body from the enemy until help arrives.

I dig the chicks too. But this is war.

77 posted on 02/27/2006 11:56:20 AM PST by GOP_Party_Animal
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To: Kelly_2000
But if you DO find some that can do the job then what is the problem?

If the woman is in a non-combat role then it is no problem.

The problem is deluding ourselves into thinking that women and men are not different and that combat is a social experiment.

How long do you think a 'all women fire-dept, police dept or military would survive?

So, the women who are getting into these professions are being shielded from their own weakeness of being women by the fact that there is a majority of men around them.

78 posted on 02/27/2006 12:45:21 PM PST by fortheDeclaration (Gal. 4:16)
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To: P3pilotJAX
Honestly, I was a T-45(jet) instructor in Kingsville and I was pissed a few times that because of political correctness I was forced to instruct females that really sucked and should have been kicked out much earlier. There will always be one or two "competent" women out there, but a majority are below par in the military(anyone who does not believe me....I have plenty of stories to share with you). Think about it....if you are a capable woman, why join the military when you can make a killing in the private sector. What kind of a society sends its mothers and daughters to war? Piss poor in my opinion....

imo Absolutely...spend twice as much making accommodations for a few at the expense of the whole...in order to manufacture data that supports a phony premise in the first place.

Affirmative action...necessitating two militarys...one to do the fighting and another to support the political agenda of the minority.

79 posted on 02/27/2006 3:05:27 PM PST by joesnuffy (A camel once bit our sister..but we knew just what to do...we gathered rocks and squashed her!)
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To: Last Dakotan
"No doubt you are a fan of the current crop of Hollywood movies where one svelte women kicks the crap out of twenty guys in a fight..."

No, but one chick with a Hellfire missile is worth more than 100 male ground-pounders!

80 posted on 02/27/2006 5:13:32 PM PST by Al Simmons ("Only those are fit to live who do not fear to die" - Theodore Roosevelt)
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