Maj. Tracy Schmidt, Capt. Kimberly Volk, Maj. Christine Mau and Capt. Jennifer Morton likely will become just footnotes in U.S. military history. In the long run, that's probably correct placement, but at the moment a bit more acclamation is appropriate. The quartet made history last month when they completed the first all-female combat mission in U.S. military annals.
The pilots and weapons systems officers flew the two-ship formation of F-15E Strike Eagles called "Dudette '07" to provide close air support for U.S. and coalition forces under heavy fire in the Kunar Valley in Afghanistan on March 30. The entire operation involved only females. Mission planners and the liaison officer at the combined air operations center were women. So were the ground crew and maintenance personnel. Some might view the mission - undertaken in honor of Women's History Month - as a publicity stunt. That's certainly not the case.
The mission was real. It was also successful, according to reports from an ABC News reporter embedded with the 101st Airborne in the in the Kunar Valley. The troops were under heavy fire - the fiercest he'd seen in 30 years of covering war zones, the reporter said - and relief was desperately needed. The aircrews provided it with deadly efficiency. The fanfare came later.
The support mission was all in a day's work for the women in the air and in support roles. They've done the same thing successfully in Afghanistan and in other theaters of war. All have been involved in such missions before and will continue to participate in them. The March 30 mission was notable only because of the gender of those involved.
The real question is why it took so long for an all-female mission to be flown. Women long ago earned their place on the flight line and in the cockpits of the nation's combat aircraft.
The Women's Army Air Corps provided heroic service in noncombat roles in World War II. Many of its members perished in service to their country. After the war ended, though, women inexplicably were barred from flight training until 1976 and not allowed to fly combat missions until 1993. It was too long a time coming, a fact poignantly noted by some of the fiercely proud Lady Birds - the women pilots of World War II - on an Air Force Website after reports of the all-female mission became public.
One wrote, "As an 81-year-old lady bird ... I think this [the all-female combat mission] is so wonderful to read about ... My best wishes to all the girls!"
One might argue about the validity of calling skilled female combat pilots "girls," but the sentiment is understandable. The mission last month is a reminder that American men and women continue to risk their lives in the nation's service - and that the military has taken a small step forward in the necessary and on-going campaign to create true equality within its ranks.