Sunday, June 21, 2009
Deanna Violette (photo: Moody Air Force Base)
Lt. Col. Deanna Violette became the first woman to assume command of a fighter squadron in the U.S. Air Force on Thursday, taking control of the 13th Air Support Operations Squadron at Fort Carson, CO. Violette is a product of the military’s decision in the mid-1990s to allow women to assume combat roles, having graduated in 1996 from flight school, where she learned how to fly the F-15E Strike Eagle.
Violette commanded an expeditionary air support operations squadron in Afghanistan in 2003 that carried out bombing missions against the Taliban. She has logged more than 1,000 flying hours in several types of aircraft, including the F-15. She most recently served as the director of operations for the 36th Electronic Warfare Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, FL.
Violette’s new squadron is expected to be deployed in support of 4th Infantry Division units in the near future.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Local Woman Takes Command of AF Squadron for First Time Ever (by Tom Roeder, The Gazette, Colorado Springs)
First Female Takes Reigns of Air Support Operations Squadron (by Rick Emert, Mountaineer)
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