My Life in War, Peace, and the Cockpit of the Navy’s Most Lethal Aircraft, the F/A-18 Super Hornet
A fresh, unique insider’s view of what it’s like to be a woman aviator in today’s US Navy—from pedicures to parachutes, friendship to firefights.
- Authors: Caroline Johnson with Hof Williams
- Publisher: St. Martin’s Press (November 5, 2019)
- Genre: Memoir
- Read an Excerpt
- Hardback: 336 pages
Synopsis
Caroline Johnson was an unlikely aviation candidate. A tall blonde debutante from Colorado, she could have just as easily gone into fashion or filmmaking, and yet she went on to become an F/A-18 Super Hornet Weapons System Officer. She was one of the first women to fly a combat mission over Iraq since 2011, and one of the first women to drop bombs on ISIS.
Jet Girl tells the remarkable story of the women fighting at the forefront in a military system that allows them to reach the highest peaks, and yet is in many respects still a fraternity. Johnson offers an insider’s view on the fascinating, thrilling, dangerous and, at times, glamorous world of being a naval aviator.
This is a coming-of age story about a young college-aged woman who draws strength from a tight knit group of friends, called the Jet Girls, and struggles with all the ordinary problems of life: love, work, catty housewives, father figures, make-up, wardrobe, not to mention being put into harm’s way daily with terrorist groups such as ISIS and world powers such as Russia and Iran.
Some of the most memorable parts of the book are about real life in training, in the air and in combat—how do you deal with having to pee in a cockpit the size of a bumper car going 600 miles an hour?
Not just a memoir, this book also aims to change the conversation and to inspire and attract the next generation of men and women who are tempted to explore a life of adventure and service.
My Thoughts
Every time I’ve read a book about a navy seal I’ve marveled about the training it takes to be ranked among those with that title. I realize this book isn’t about a seal but an aviator. However, as I read I felt the same way. Whether man or woman, seal or aviator, the training involved to attain some ranks is staggering. And to think that it’s taken so many years for us as civilians to realize this and begin thanking our veterans for all they’ve endured for us is sad. (Or maybe this applies more to me than you.)
In the case of this book, I was able to see much of the training through a woman’s eyes. Again, rather naively, I had no idea what would be required of an F/A-18 Super Hornet Weapons System Officer. A title that Caroline Johnson worked extremely hard to achieve.
Jet Girl’s Story
Her story begins in the early 2000s when she enters the academy and turns her life, a somewhat privileged Colorado debutante, over to the United States Navy. The reader follows her through her schooling and what is required. After graduating at the top of her flight school class, she is selected for the Blacklions, an elite fighter group based out of Virginia Beach, Va. I probably should have mentioned earlier that the chapters switch occasionally from training, then up a few years to active duty.
It’s easy to pick up on her enthusiasm for what she is working on, and then when she does finally get to join a squadron. But at the same time, her thorough story shares the loneliness, harassment, and snubbing that she endures. Of course, not by all, but by many. But they are things that would send most of us racing back home. Yet, she keeps her eye single to her goal.
Be it right or wrong, I’m not involved in women’s liberation in any way. Yet, I tried to understand the issues she faced and I wanted to give each side a fair shake. The wives of the fighter pilots shunned her, no doubt not happy that this woman would be spending so much time with their husbands. But as a woman, it felt like they should have been singing her praises for achieving such a wonderful accomplishment. And the men . . . well, many were downright cruel to her. I guess trying to see it from their side, flying was intruding into their world.
This in-depth story covers so much: the rigorous training involved, friendships, mentors, boyfriends, trying to find her place in a squadron, handling sexism and exclusion from her squadron, and much more.
And finally, we learn how hard it is for her to acclimate to life when they aren’t on the carrier. Though she needs some space to regroup and call her own, she finds nearly complete alienation. Though perhaps partying would have helped her fit in. (I’m being facetious and at the same time truthful.)
This touching story takes the reader on a flight like no other.
My thanks to #Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of #JetGirl. This #bookreview is the result of my thoughts.
What Concerned Me
I wasn’t a fan of the chapters jumping from past to present, then back to past, etc.
What I Liked Most
Though this is not a topic I would normally read, the journey she took was very interesting and informative.
I have absolutely nothing in common with her, but following her down the path from her first day at the naval academy to the day she dropped bombs on ISIS terrorists in Iraq to the days when she questioned her place in the Navy were so vividly retold that it felt like I was there.
Rating
About The Author
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© Shawna O’Brien
CAROLINE JOHNSON was an F/A-18 Weapons Systems Officer (WSO) in the US Navy. During her deployment aboard the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier, she flew missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria and was one of the first women to neutralize ISIS. Later during her Navy career, Caroline became a Senior Leadership instructor at the United States Naval Academy. She is now a professional speaker in the private sector.
