.jpg)
RAF First ladies making history
05 June 2009
HIGH FLYING women in the RAF are shattering the glass ceiling that can hold back their civvie street sisters.
MERLIN pilot Flt Lt Michelle Goodman made history
last year as the first ever woman to be awarded the
DFC for her bravery under fire during a daring medical
evacuation in Basrah.
Her achievement made her a role model for a generation of
women joining the Air Force. Now Tornado GR4 pilot
Flt Lt Kirsty Moore and PJI Flt Lt Louise Buxton are blazing
a trail to the top as the two latest RAF First Ladies.
Tornado pilot Kirsty hit the headlines when she became the
first woman to win a place with the World Famous Red
Arrows, while Louise has made her name as the first female
commanding officer of the RAF’s Falcons parachute display
team.
The RAF has been at the vanguard of sexual equality in the
Forces. A recent survey revealed that 96 per cent of all
possions
within the Service are open to women - ahead of the Navy
and the Army which both scored 71 per cent. Of all personnel serving within the RAF, 12.3 per cent are women compared to 9.3 per cent in the Royal Navy and 8.2 per cent in the Army.
The line up of the RAF’s latest first ladies has shattered the glass ceiling that their civvie street sisters claim halt their career hopes.
Michelle Goodman flew her first operational mission in Iraq in 2006. A year later she was a captain with her own crew facing the toughest challenge of her life. She was given a 30 minute call to evacuate critically injured rifleman Stephen Vause.
Flying in zero visibility in a sandstorm and coming under heavy fire she flew at roof top level into the centre of a fire fight with terrorist insurgents.
She said: “It was totally unknown territory for all of us. I remember saying ‘this could be a bit dodgy’ but I had no idea how true that was.
“Things are very different now than perhaps 20 years ago but when I joined up in 2000 women were already pretty well established in the RAF.
“I always wanted to be a pilot and people have always been supported. I have never been treated any differently becuse I am a woman. All through training things were very even handed.
“It would be great to get more women into operational roles in the RAF. We do bring an extra element - a different perspective to things if you like. Being the only woman on an operational tour can be quite isolating. I’ve just come back from Iraq and there was another female pilot there - it made such a difference to being out there.”
Louise Buxton joined the ATC’s 58 Sqn as a schoolgirl before being sponsored by the RAF to take a degree in Physical Education at Durham University. She joined the RAF in 2004 and completed short tours at RAF Odiham and Cosford before finally volunteering for the No 1 PTS where she quickly made her mark.
She became the Falcons team’s OC last year. She said: “I’ve been given all the same opportunities as the men.
“It’s all about the job rather than the ratio of men to women. It is all I’ve wanted to do since I saw the Falcons at an air display when I was 13 years old.
“If I can help other young women become more aware of some of the opportunities that the RAF can provide then that’s great.
Flight Lieutenant Kirsty Moore joined the RAF as a pilot in 1998, has served as an instructor on the Hawk aircraft at RAF Valley in North Wales and is currently flying Tornado GR4s with 13 Sqn based at RAF Marham in Norfolk.
She said: “I’m delighted and honoured to have been selected to fly with the Red Arrows in 2010. The quality of the other shortlisted candidates was extremely high. At the moment I am focused on my current role and looking forward to joining the team later in the year.”
Air Cdre Barbara Cooper is the RAF’s highest ranking woman officer. When she was commissioned 30 years ago into the Women’s Royal Air Force women could not become pilots or navigators or have a family and remain in the Service.
She said: “The greatest step forward has been the absorption of the WRAF into the RAF and today women are found in 96 per cent of all the roles doing extraordinary jobs in difficult and dangerous situations. We don’t have a target for the number of women we want in the Service but we represent only about 13-14 per cent so there is room for improvement.
“Our big challenge is to encourage women to stay in the Air Force. On average they serve only half the length of time that men do.”
• The RAF Museum Hendon’s exhibition Women in the Air Force is on now: www.rafmuseum.org.uk
05 June 2009
HIGH FLYING women in the RAF are shattering the glass ceiling that can hold back their civvie street sisters.
MERLIN pilot Flt Lt Michelle Goodman made history
last year as the first ever woman to be awarded the
DFC for her bravery under fire during a daring medical
evacuation in Basrah.
Her achievement made her a role model for a generation of
women joining the Air Force. Now Tornado GR4 pilot
Flt Lt Kirsty Moore and PJI Flt Lt Louise Buxton are blazing
a trail to the top as the two latest RAF First Ladies.
Tornado pilot Kirsty hit the headlines when she became the
first woman to win a place with the World Famous Red
Arrows, while Louise has made her name as the first female
commanding officer of the RAF’s Falcons parachute display
team.
The RAF has been at the vanguard of sexual equality in the
Forces. A recent survey revealed that 96 per cent of all
possions
within the Service are open to women - ahead of the Navy
and the Army which both scored 71 per cent. Of all personnel serving within the RAF, 12.3 per cent are women compared to 9.3 per cent in the Royal Navy and 8.2 per cent in the Army.
The line up of the RAF’s latest first ladies has shattered the glass ceiling that their civvie street sisters claim halt their career hopes.
Michelle Goodman flew her first operational mission in Iraq in 2006. A year later she was a captain with her own crew facing the toughest challenge of her life. She was given a 30 minute call to evacuate critically injured rifleman Stephen Vause.
Flying in zero visibility in a sandstorm and coming under heavy fire she flew at roof top level into the centre of a fire fight with terrorist insurgents.
She said: “It was totally unknown territory for all of us. I remember saying ‘this could be a bit dodgy’ but I had no idea how true that was.
“Things are very different now than perhaps 20 years ago but when I joined up in 2000 women were already pretty well established in the RAF.
“I always wanted to be a pilot and people have always been supported. I have never been treated any differently becuse I am a woman. All through training things were very even handed.
“It would be great to get more women into operational roles in the RAF. We do bring an extra element - a different perspective to things if you like. Being the only woman on an operational tour can be quite isolating. I’ve just come back from Iraq and there was another female pilot there - it made such a difference to being out there.”
Louise Buxton joined the ATC’s 58 Sqn as a schoolgirl before being sponsored by the RAF to take a degree in Physical Education at Durham University. She joined the RAF in 2004 and completed short tours at RAF Odiham and Cosford before finally volunteering for the No 1 PTS where she quickly made her mark.
She became the Falcons team’s OC last year. She said: “I’ve been given all the same opportunities as the men.
“It’s all about the job rather than the ratio of men to women. It is all I’ve wanted to do since I saw the Falcons at an air display when I was 13 years old.
“If I can help other young women become more aware of some of the opportunities that the RAF can provide then that’s great.
Flight Lieutenant Kirsty Moore joined the RAF as a pilot in 1998, has served as an instructor on the Hawk aircraft at RAF Valley in North Wales and is currently flying Tornado GR4s with 13 Sqn based at RAF Marham in Norfolk.
She said: “I’m delighted and honoured to have been selected to fly with the Red Arrows in 2010. The quality of the other shortlisted candidates was extremely high. At the moment I am focused on my current role and looking forward to joining the team later in the year.”
Air Cdre Barbara Cooper is the RAF’s highest ranking woman officer. When she was commissioned 30 years ago into the Women’s Royal Air Force women could not become pilots or navigators or have a family and remain in the Service.
She said: “The greatest step forward has been the absorption of the WRAF into the RAF and today women are found in 96 per cent of all the roles doing extraordinary jobs in difficult and dangerous situations. We don’t have a target for the number of women we want in the Service but we represent only about 13-14 per cent so there is room for improvement.
“Our big challenge is to encourage women to stay in the Air Force. On average they serve only half the length of time that men do.”
• The RAF Museum Hendon’s exhibition Women in the Air Force is on now: www.rafmuseum.org.uk
Flt Lt Louise Buxton
Flt Lt Michelle Goodman DFC
Flt Lt Kirsty Moore
First among equals
Registered Charity United Kingdom No 226682 Spain No G54288329