Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Major General Margaret H. Woodward

Major General Margaret H. Woodward


The first woman to command an air combat campaign, Major General Margaret H. Woodward, started off in the military as a combat instructor. After graduating from Arizona State University, she earned advanced degrees at the National War College in Washington and at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. When she entered the U.S. Air Force in 1983, women weren't allowed to fly. So instead, she trained other pilots after earning her own pilot wings.

Soon however, she moved on. After being a trainer, she worked on a KC-135 tanker, refueling other planes. She accumulated around 4,000 hours of flight time working as a refueler in the 1989 invasion of Panama, the 1999 in combat against Serbian forces in Kosovo and commanded the refueling missions during Iraq and Afghanistan.

For a time she was the Secretary of Defense, commanding the pilots of Air Force One. but anyhow, another topic for another day. Now she's the leading commander of the air strike force over Libya. In the 11 days after the she was positioned, U.S. aircraft in Libya have flown 1,400 sorties. They've only lost 1 plane to equipment issues, and they ejected and returned safely. For being the first woman to command an air strike force, she's doing spectacular.

oh and I got my information from here.

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