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She says it has refined her to continue improving and learning in everything that she does. Major Kimbrell says that being a fighter pilot does not define her, though it’s exhilarating. Working through those challenges paid off for Major Kimberly when she was posted to Misawa Air Base in Japan for her first assignment. Having to frequently deal with that bias, whether done in malice or not, has pushed Major Kimbrell to work harder to succeed in life. She says that being a black woman is a contact struggle in the United States. She admits being viewed from a different perspective whenever she goes somewhere, and that makes it challenging for her. Only 3,700 of the total 14,000 pilots in the Us Air Force are fighter pilots, and there are less than a 100 women who are fighter pilots.Īs the only female pilot stationed at Aviano AFB, she says that there are still many racial issues that are still unsolved and end up spilling over to every workplace and every walk of life. She admits that during her pilot training, she embraced humility to realize that no matter how strong or good you are you require help and its critical look at it before it’s too late. Major Kimbrell strived to improve consistently, eager to make it to an elite cadre of fighter pilots for the Fighting Falcon community. This was after she graduated from the Air Force Academy the previous year. The Joint Performance Garment - High Absorbency Moisture Control was a tad bulkier than fashion allowed and was only worn when conditions mandated them. Kimbrell says she had what it takes to fly a fighter into battle and went to the intense pilot training in the August of 1999. Answer (1 of 8): In my air wings, the female pilots who were going to be on longer missions wore J-PGHAMCs (pronounced Pig Hammocks). Though women have been trained to be military aviators since 1976, officials in government did not have faith that women had what it takes for combat. About a two decades ago, the, then, Defense Secretary authorized women to join the fighter pilot training program. Piloting a multi-million dollar F-16 fighting falcon was reserved solely for men. She says that there is still much room for firsts for African American females and that the barrier to military flying has been breached for women who are interested and know the type of obstacles for them. She currently serves as an Aircrew Flight Equipment flight commander. It is this experience during her formative years that inspired Major Kimbrell to become the first female African American fighter pilot in the US Air Force.
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At age 14 she had her first flight after which she decided to never look back. Kimbrell initially wanted to venture in astronomy, but later felt that it would be more enjoyable to become a fighter pilot. While most young girls in the fourth grade want to be an Engineer, Doctor, Princess, or scientist, Shawna Rochelle Kimbrell knew she wanted to fly.