Jet Girl: My Life in War, Peace, and the Cockpit of the Navy's Most Lethal Aircraft, the F/A-18 Super Hornet

They ought to make more women like Caroline Johnson! A totally self-motivated young woman in a man's world, this gorgeous blonde, blue-eyed debutante turned Weapons System Officer in a fighter jet, the remarkable F/A-18 Super Hornet, takes one's breath away in and out of the cockpit. The story starts in Caroline's youth and progresses through her training and experiences as a woman surviving -- and thriving -- in the man's world of fighter pilots who land the Navy's most advanced airplanes on the postage stamp that is an aircraft carrier out at sea in some of the most unwelcoming and dangerous places on earth. As the author, she describes not only the technical aspects of her duties on board such aircraft flying missions in and out of the world's most threatening war zones, but also the personal aspects of living for months in the space of a closet on a carrier, the relationships that develop among men and women around her, the ups, downs, and survival tactics she employed so well to thrive in extraordinary circumstances, and the psychological stability that enabled her success in what can legitimately be called life or death situations both in the air and on the ground. This is a must-read for women of all ages who are driven to succeed in arenas and disciplines typically and historically reserved for men. It is a story that transcends the gender gap, opening up avenues in which women can achieve and succeed side by side with the men who achieve and succeed in both war and peace with each not sacrificing their God-given identities. This book is a must-read -- and makes a great gift -- for any man or woman who is a pilot or was one, a parent or friend of a pilot, or anyone who works with airplanes of any kind or was in the military. An eye opener, inspirational and insightful. A winner.

I went through this book in a little over a week. I found it a great insight into the pressures and rewards of US Navy fighter pilot. That this pilot is a woman reveals the pressures on anyone who is out of the "Norm" in the military aviation world, a world seemingly ruled by immature, talented, headstrong males. That she is now out of the navy says something about how far some institutions still have to go in the modern world.