TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- On March 16, 2018, an all-female crew of seven Airmen assigned to the 21st Airlift Squadron and 945th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron took off from Travis Air Force Base, California, aboard a C-17 Globemaster III to accomplish their own unique milestone.
Women’s History Month in the United States began as Women’s History Week in 1982. The event was expanded to the entire month of March in 1987. The United States Air Force has made a tradition of commemorating this important occasion with special Women’s Heritage Flights consisting of all-female aircrews.
While an all-women aircrew might not have been regular, the mission reflected what the Airmen do every day: transporting equipment and military personnel halfway around the world, and then back again.
“Almost 80 years ago, Amelia Earhart set a record flying from Oakland to Honolulu in 16 hours,” said Capt. Jamie Larivee, 21st AS pilot and aircraft commander. “We did it our first day together, in six hours. The first Air Force women aviators only started flying in the last few decades. Today, I’m serving with a whole crew of amazing gifted ladies flying a mission just like any other.”
Larivee has been in the Air Force for seven years. She is also a true Air Force brat; both of her parents also served in the Air Force.
“My brother and I got to meet so many incredible, hardworking and inspirational people in the Air Force, I wanted to join their team,” she said. “It’s important for me to serve, to help people around the world. I love to travel and I wanted an exciting job.”
Having a career in any military field involves sacrifice and challenge. Being a woman can sometimes mean extra effort.
“A woman once said: In aviation, gender doesn’t matter,” Larivee said. “You’re a flyer; the jet doesn’t know the difference.”
“Some days are different. We have to show we can do our jobs well while also staying true to ourselves as women, that we can do what our country asks of us. This particular mission is a celebration of how far we’ve come in the century, even the last decade, as a nation, as a military and as a culture,” she said.
Larivee takes inspiration from her own mother, who was in the first class of women at the Air Force Academy.
“She and her classmates had so many obstacles and people who doubted them, more than I ever will, but they made it and thrived in the Air Force together,” she said.
The aircrew included three loadmasters, with one just starting her Air Force career, and one deciding to leave the military in a few months.
This was the first mission for Airman 1st Class Alexia Lewis, 21st AS loadmaster, her “dollar ride,” and she was carefully guided throughout the trip by her senior members. Her professionalism and her efficiency outweighed any lack of inexperience.
“I hope to serve in the best and most dedicated way possible, though it feels like a sped up version of growing up,” she said. “You start out having a lot to learn, but in a few days you grow up and become far more familiar with your duties and the mission.”
Even though she is new to the Air Force, the importance of the mission was clear to her.
“It is very significant flight in the sense that it has taken me over a year of training to get to this point,” Lewis said. “It has also shown me how truly capable and globally ready we are. We can be anywhere in the world in a matter of hours. Being a mission-qualified loadmaster is my goal, and I feel like I have been set up for success by flying with these ladies.”
Senior Airman Kaitlyn Besse, a loadmaster with the 21st AS, joined the Air Force three and a half years ago to be a part of something and to get life experience anywhere else, but has made the decision to move forward and rejoin the civilian sector.
“Moving on and leaving the Air Force feels like the hardest decision I’ve made so far in my life,” said Besse.
“I have always felt the Air Force was my first step to my future success,” she said. “Now, after nearly four years, the Air Force was probably the most important step to lead me to my future goals and ambitions. The Air Force has molded me into the strong confident female I am today. I’m excited to take all of my skills and experiences and apply it to college and my future.”
The women all had a role to play during the mission to keep the flight running smoothly and on schedule. On-loading and off-loading massive cargo containers at various stops were efficiently executed by the women using skills learned by training and experience.
Other than marking Women’s History Month, the female aircrew seemed to all share the same opinion. The mission was no different than any other tasked in Air Mobility Command.
“The best thing about it is, outside of the celebration of the Women’s Heritage Flight, it’s not special,” said Capt. Tory Nicholson, 21st AS pilot. “We are a fully qualified, normal crew component, and we are our doing our jobs. We’re not the first all-female crew and we definitely won’t be the last.”