USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70)

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Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on January 27, 2012 at 7:41pm

Historical All-Female Flight Takes Place Aboard USS Carl Vinson

Story Number: NNS120127-05

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class (SW/AW) Rosa A. Arzola, USS Carl Vinson Public Affairs

USS CARL VINSON, At Sea (NNS) -- Five "Tigertails" of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron One Two Five (VAW-125), embarked aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) as part of Carrier Air Wing Seventeen (CVW-17), flew an historic flight on Jan. 25 when they participated in the Navy's first all-female E-2C Hawkeye combat mission.

Carrier Aircraft Plane Commander Lt. Cmdr. Tara Refo, Mission Commander Lt. Cmdr. Brandy Jackson, Second Pilot Lt. Ashley Ruic, Air Control Officer Lt. Nydia Driver, and Radar Operator Lt. j. g. Ashley Ellison flew an E-2C Hawkeye- the Navy's all-weather, carrier-based tactical battle management airborne early warning and command and control aircraft. The aircraft was also manned up by multiple female maintainers including Aviation Machinist's Mate 3rd Class LaTasha Lawrence, Aviation Machinist's Mate 1st Class Farzana Lively, Aviation Structural Mechanic (Equipment) 2nd Class Ana Wilson, Aviation Structural Mechanic Airman Denise Birchfield, and Aviation Machinist's Mate 3rd Class Racheal Watson who ensured the safe launch and recovery.

"I have only had the opportunity to fly with one other female pilot," Ruic said. "It is nice to be a part of history, not just because we are females, but because we are also close friends. It was a unique experience."

Ellison added, "We got the mission accomplished and had fun at the same time. It was a flight I will never forget."

"Since April 2011, when Ellison checked on board as the fifth female in the squadron, we have been attempting to organize the all-female combat mission flight. Due to operational constraints, it had not been possible until now," stated Jackson, the squadron's operations officer.

The Tigertails are one of twelve active-duty VAW squadrons in the Navy. Eleven are carrier-based, but as Driver explained, VAW-125 is the only fleet Hawkeye squadron with enough females to fill a complete flight crew.

The number of female Hawkeye pilots in the fleet is still small, sitting at less than 5 percent, but the number of female naval flight officers appears to be growing, Refo noted. "During my junior officer tour from 2003 to 2006, I was the first female officer and only female pilot in my squadron," she said. "Now having five women in the same squadron with varying rank and experience, it is gratifying to witness the progression of women in the community."

The opportunities opened up by women aviators like Capt. Sarah Joyner, the first female deputy carrier air wing commander, and Cmdr. Val Overstreet, the first female VAW commanding officer, have allowed many females to pursue their dreams with no limitations.

After the flight, Jackson expressed interest in repeating this event should the opportunity arise. "We are getting a new female naval flight officer soon, and we can't wait for her to join us as we continue to make history as naval aviators," Ellison commented.

Carl Vinson and CVW-17 are conducting maritime theater security operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), visit www.navy.mil/local/cvn70/.

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on January 26, 2012 at 7:59am

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on January 25, 2012 at 9:11pm

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on January 19, 2012 at 3:54pm

and so you can get stoked, here is the first blog I wrote about my cruise on the Roosevelt waaaaay back in '09!  At the bottom of each page is a Next Post button to go the next blog in the series......

and as William said: "Good luck, you'll be joining a small but select group of civilians who can say that they slept underneath an airport and over a nuclear reactor." And I'll add "over a nuclear reactor and about 5 million pounds of live ordinance......"

Click this for the link

Comment by William M. Farmer on January 19, 2012 at 3:47pm

Byron, I'm not quite sure what you're time line is but I can give you what mine was for the 2011 TC on the Carl Vinson.  12 weeks before getting on the boat, I learned about the TC.  Two weeks later I received the forms with a hard two week deadline to return (missing this deadline would have dq'd me for consideration).  5 weeks before embarkation, I received confirmation that I was medically cleared and the Tiger Cruise was on.  The key piece of information was when the boat was arriving in San Diego.  It was highly recommended that return air travel be arranged for the following day. 

Good luck, you'll be joining a small but select group of civilians who can say that they slept underneath an airport and over a nuclear reactor.

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on January 19, 2012 at 8:54am

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on January 19, 2012 at 8:19am

Byron...you can learn a lot just by reading the past posts in the Stennis group...the talk has pretty exclusively about their cruise so I'd go back about 10 pages or so and read up.  Also spend time in the Tiger Cruise group...there are many pages of posts there with hints and tips.  It all starts with your sailor submitting your name for the cruise.  There will be medical screening form you'll have to complete and then the staff will make the decision if you qualify for the cruse or not.  Your sailor will also have to pay a small fee.  After that it is preparing and getting a plan in place...you can read about what to take and not to take on the groups I've mentioned.  Through other contacts in the groups that are going usually a plan falls into place...where to meet and all those things.  Just remember OPSEC......no specific places and times in public posts.

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on January 17, 2012 at 4:26am

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on January 15, 2012 at 4:23am

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on January 11, 2012 at 4:59am

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