She's Just Another Navy Pilot: An Aviator's Sea Journal

by Loree Y Draude, Dave Hirschman

When the USS Abraham Lincoln left San Diego in April 1995 for a six-month deployment in the Persian Gulf, it was the first Pacific Fleet ship to go to sea with female combat pilots. Before they had even gotten underway, one of the eighteen women aviators had been killed. By the time the ship returned to California, another had turned in her wings, and a third had been sent home for poor performance. But most thrived in their demanding new environment despite the pressures. This is the story of one of those pilots, Loree Hirschman, a twenty-seven-year-old navy lieutenant and the only female pilot in the carrier's S-3B Viking antisubmarine warfare squadron. She describes the historic cruise with rare candor and balance. In the center of one of the most pressing social issues facing the military today, Hirschman offers both a personally revealing and professionally insightful account of breaking into the world of the male combat pilot. She writes frankly about the strained interaction between men and woman on the Lincoln as they struggled to define their new roles and about the women's attempts to overcome mistrust and resentment by proving their skill, courage, and determination. She describes the typically competitive route to the deployment and reflects on the irony of flying her jet to defend Arab countries that won't allow women to drive cars, bare their arms, or even go out alone in public. Informative as well as entertaining, her chronicle of life at sea is a testament to the accomplishments of these pioneering women. No matter which side of the debate a reader takes, Hirschman adds a significant new dimension to the controversy over female integration of navy combat aviation squadrons. As co-ed deployments become routine and women like Hirschman can be accepted as just another pilot, her journal will serve as a reminder of the navy's struggle to adjust to a new era.

Genres: Military Fiction, Nonfiction, Aviation, Memoir

305 pages, Paperback

First published May 12, 2000

Reviews

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hirschman recounts her deployment aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln as one of the first female navy combat pilots in She’s Just Another Navy Pilot. This was the first time the ship was deployed with women serving aboard the humorously nicknamed “Babe-raham Lincoln.”

The entire time I was reading the book, I felt like I would be great friends with Hirschman, who flew the S-3B Viking (an antisubmarine warfare plane). She shares her experiences honestly, but with much tact. I admired how she remained professional in a tricky situation.

Hirschman explains the rather complicated position of being a woman pilot in the Navy in the early to mid-1990s. The Tailhook scandal had occurred in 1991, and the Navy was still experiencing the political fallout from that incident. Women had proven their worth in the Gulf War, but weren’t officially allowed to be in combat roles until Congress finally gave the go-ahead for women to be in (limited) combat roles—such as being a pilot. Finally, a new generation of women pilots were allowed to live out their dream of flying in fighter jets and other high performance aircraft.

With a lot of political undercurrents occurring during the deployment, and a tragic beginning (Hirschman arrived onboard the same day that Kara Hultgreen tragically lost her life while attempting a carrier landing qualification), the deployment ultimately proved to be a success, and an important step forward for female naval aviators.

She’s Just Another Navy Pilot was extremely well-written and held my interest from beginning to end. Hirschman was honest: she gave credit where credit was due, but was not afraid to include her own errors. She also treated the subject of women transitioning into the fleet even-handedly, allowing the reader to draw her own conclusions about the situation.

I also appreciated the fact that Hirschman allowed the reader glimpses into her personal life as well—inserting flashbacks of the story of meeting, falling in love, and marrying a fellow naval aviator, Harry Hirschman.

[Myriah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This autobiography takes off where Kara Hultgreen's story of female navy aviators left off. Hirschman served the first American Pacific gender-integrated fleet combat operations. Drawing largely from the journal she kept while at sea, Hirschman describes the difficulties facing the new female aviators (especially after Hultgreen's death), and her personal history leading up to this historic cruise. In keeping with the title of the book, Hirschman weaves issues of integration into descriptions of the hardships and pleasures of serving on the Lincoln. Ever conscious of the specific perspective her autobiography offers, she includes short summaries of the process of integration from other naval officers, male and female, at the end of the book. Overall a delightful story from a pioneering naval aviator.

[Peter Swanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book! I was a helicopter crewman in the Navy, so am familiar with the nature of naval aviators. Loree Hirschmann does an excellent job of sharing the difficulties and exhilaration of being among the first female flyers in the U.S. navy.

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and consistently engaging, Draude's memoir offers a detailed look at the conflicts and challenges, both personal and professional, that she weathered as a pioneering female naval aviator. After reading historical fiction centered on a similar topic (Velva Jean Learns to Fly), Draude's chronicle was a refreshing dose of the real-life highs and lows experienced by women who served their country while breaking gender barriers.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told from an Officer's perspective, so the real (Enlisted) female sailor's viewpoints would be way different, but still, an interesting perspective. Bitching about sharing a stateroom with two other women...that's nothing considering the berthing I was in provided me with 164 roommates, but whatever. I'm just saying...I did like the book though.

[Rayme]

An excellent eye into the stress and the triumphs of breaking this barrier. Ms. Draude help provide the Navy with a quality first team of women.

If you are at all interested in how we might integrate women more fully into the military, this is required reading.