Eileen Bjorkman
Eileen Bjorkman
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Show notes
Author, retired Air Force Colonel, former flight test engineer, and Executive Director of the Air Force Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California, Eileen Bjorkman, talks about her new book, FLY GIRLS REVOLT: THE STORY OF THE WOMEN WHO KICKED OPEN THE DOOR TO FLY IN COMBAT, available May 23rd, 2023. Eileen weaves her own experience as an Air Force flight test engineer in this history that, uniquely among books that follow the history of women in military aviation, bridges the gap between the WASP and the first active duty female aviators in the 1970s with the stories of the women who served in other roles in between. She also includes a detailed account of the Women Military Aviators’ (WMA) spectacular show of solidarity at a DACOWITZ hearing on changes in the Air Force’s flight training policy that threatened to further restrict women’s ability to progress professionally in the ranks. This book brings us new and complementary information on this incredibly important transition for women in military aviation, and features several outstanding and notable pioneers, not the least of whom is currently the Air Force Chief of Safety, Maj. General Jeannie Leavitt.
**I mistakenly say we’ll discuss the book in the Aviatrix Book Club in July. It will actually be AUGUST’s discussion book. Hope to see you in the discussions!
