Female Gunner?

[Hotmike]

I remember reading an article last year about an Amn Vanessa Dobos who was going to be the first Female gunner when she graduated from BAG school.

I remember it so vividly, cause at first I thought it was a "Model Shot" suitable for framing, when I saw this cute little Hottie,
"Reese Witherspoon" look-a-like, sitting next to a Mini-Gun. I thought it was just some type of PR thing, but after reading the article, I saw that they have opened up gunner jobs to Females. I wasn't aware that it had ever been a CEL (Combat Exclusion Law) that females couldn't be Gunners... I just thought you had to have a certain degree of ugly and attitude to ya to be a gunner! LOL

Anyhow, did she ever finish gunner school? And where did she end up getting stationed? And most importantly, Has she married a PJ or Pilot yet?

(Actually, I would be seriously interested in knowing "the real deal" about she did at the school (from instructors and classmates) and how other gunners see this as affecting the future of the career field, both positive and negative, but send those responses VFR direct to me).

[Rotor Strike please]

One of my good buddies is her immediate supervisor. She is a squared away Airman. Does what she is told and does it well. She did fine in school. Not going to tell you where she is for OPSEC reasons. Re-read the article. If she continues to do her job as well as a man, she's alright in my book. If she flakes out, she needs to go away just like any male aircrewmember. If we go to AFSOC and there is no spot for her in Spec Ops due to their regs, ce la vie. You play by the rules. She can teach at Kirtland or something. Other than that, I have no positive or negative comments to add. She's not married to any fucking pilot or PJ, either. You don't shit where you eat.

[SN]

She can go to AC's if you go to AFSOC.

[Hotmike]

Ryan,
I'm glad to hear she's squared away, and carrying her weight at a gunner shop. I was curious if she was serious about the job, or just some type of "Political Experiment" to show that men and women are "equals" when it comes to Combatant career fields. (ala Pat Schroeder and the NOW Femi-nazis) I see so many things done in todays "Pink Fuzzy Bunny, Fluffy White Cloud Air Force" in the name of "Equal Opportunity" that I was naturally curious to see how her being assigned to a gun crew would turn out. I'm all for Women in the military, (in NON-Combatant jobs) as long as they don't lower physical standards to accomodate them, (at the expense of the rest of the team). The "Married" comment was sarcasm.
If other gunners and aircrew are supportive of her, and she has the skills to make it in a "manly-man" areana, I take my beret off to her, and welcome her aboard. We can always use another squared away troop! Thanx for the update.

HK

[Fire-Gunner]

There are also a few female H-60 Flight Engineers around as well, and their duties include firing the GAU-2 and the M-240.

[Rotor Strike please]

FG,
While that's true, I haven't heard one good thing about them. At least our Gunner Girl is squared away.

[Fire-Gunner]

Howdy Ryan,
We have one who's just out of Kirtland, and so far she's squared away.

[Hotmike]

Are any of the other ones HALF as photogenic? Thats probably why I thought she was "the first".... The rest of them LOOK like traditional Gunners! Ugly old Meat Necks who can bench press a 350 Small Block, and Mean as hell! LOL

Hotmike

[Mikey G]

Originally posted by Ryan Renuart
FG,
While that's true, I haven't heard one good thing about them. At least our Gunner Girl is squared away.

Uhm, we have a female FE here at Kadena too, she's somewhat new, but shes doing a great job.


*might I add...if you don't piss off a crew chief, you're doing a good job :D


Ryan, were you at Nellis by any chance? Your name sounds familiar

[Rotor Strike please]

H60CC,
I'm a Nellis born Gunner. I was at the 66th for a bit over 3 years. Have I met you? PM me if you want with the details.

[pavegnr]

Times they are a changin. If they can hang and handle the psyops it should not matter. can you trust them to have your back when it's called for?