[Arab TV Claims] US Jet Shot Down by Iraqi Anti Aircraft Fire [Female Pilot Captured]

Islamic Republic News Agency and 'Al Arabiya' TV ^ | March 22, 2003 | BH/JB

[jsraggmann]

Why do you still use the hyphenated American term? Why not just AMERICAN?

[bluefish]

kinda cute!

[ewing]

Man, I hope your right.

[Bulldogs22]

"I find it amazing that one so new could be one so bigoted and obnoxious."


Relax it was a joke. Sorry if I offended you.

[Henchster]

Let's think worst case scenario:

A young "up-and-coming" advisor decides it would be great propaganda to have a woman pilot lead a risky raid. It would also be great if she were a minority who led an "alternate lifestyle." Having few such "candidates" for such a mission, a "pilot" of lesser skill is selected, or even rushed through training so as to make the run. Of course, without the skill, and/or training, "pilot" panics under pressure and contributes to mission loss.

Oh, I forgot, the Clinton "administration" is gone, and the grown-ups are back in charge!

NOTHING TO SEE, MOVE ALONG!

[dandelion]

Women may not be piloting fighter craft, but I believe women are involved aboard bombers/reconnaisence/support craft. My daughter is enlisting USAF, and as of now, even as enlisted, she is eligible for flight crew. She is NOT eligible for pararescue or other combat units. (No problem with that, she's signed up for intel.) Correct me if I'm wrong...

[TankerKC]

Look Here.

Another of the first American woman to fly in combat in the '90s was Lt Col.Martha McSally, ranked as the top female Air Force pilot. Lt Col McSally was among the first women trained by the Air Force as a fighter pilot. During a 1995-96 tour of duty in Kuwait, she became the first woman in military history to fly a combat sortie in a fighter aircraft. She also flew more than 100 combat hours on an A-10 Warthog attack plane over Iraq in the mid-1990s, and served as a flight commander and trainer of combat pilots.

In 1993 when Secretary of Defense Les Aspin opened combat aviation to women, including enlisted female aircrew members, allowing women to fly combat missions, opportunities opened even more for women pilots and crew members. With these new opportunities female pilot numbers are increasing steadily with more and more women completing pilot training.

Today, in the war against the Taliban and al-Qaida targets in Afghanistan, women are filling aircrew positions as bomber pilots, navigators, tanker pilots, and weapons officers - those who specialize in operating in flight arms - loadmasters, and varied officer and enlisted aircrew positions

[AlaninSA]

Joke?

Damn right I'm offended. There's no call for language like that.

[mdittmar]

Cute and capable,a good combination.

[Jhoffa_]

He was teasing about another post on Mexian-Lesbian-War Protesters.

Geezsh, get over it alrady.

I'm German, imagine the hell I would go through if I were so thin skinned.

[ewing]

Viva La LPGA!

[Salvation]

Second source?

Right now I am doubt the validity of this article.

[AlaninSA]

Let me place this into context. I'm reading a post on this while -- at the same time -- explaining the military and our efforts in Iraq to my four-year-old daughter (who happens to be of Mexican heritage).

Does my annoyance make some sense -- especially in the absence of the context of the leftist protest being referenced?

[demlosers]

The truth will eventually come out. Arab news, Pravda, DEBKA, STRATFOR, Rense.com, Reuters, ect., those news/sites I always suspect BS until other confirmation.

[Jhoffa_]

Yes, but it wasn't an overtly racist comment. That was my point.

FWIW, I didn't think it was funny either, but it was offered as humor regardless.

[annyokie]

Female pilots do not fly combat missions.

[HairOfTheDog]

A young "up-and-coming" advisor decides it would be great propaganda to have a woman pilot lead a risky raid. It would also be great if she were a minority who led an "alternate lifestyle." Having few such "candidates" for such a mission, a "pilot" of lesser skill is selected, or even rushed through training so as to make the run. Of course, without the skill, and/or training, "pilot" panics under pressure and contributes to mission loss.

Anything here besides paranoia? There is no reason to make the initial assumption that a woman is a lesser pilot than a man.... They've been flyin' fighter planes for years now, and actually their relatively smaller frames and particulars in women's physiology make them fairly ideal for the job.

I hope this story is wrong, because I don't want to see any of our soldiers captured. I certainly don't want to see any of them insulted here either.

[ewing]

Yep. I hope that there is nothing to back this up-we should know soon