These days, women are more empowered than ever. They have become strong partners of genuine and sustainable development and are fielded to numerous areas of expertise here and abroad. Women have proven their worth to be agile and dependable in so many ways.
Like in the military service, particularly in the Philippine Air Force, several female officers, officers, or rank and file, are deployed and positioned in sensitive and delicate positions that enable the PAF to continue to serve especially in a national disaster, rescue, and relief operations. They are at the forefront of providing comfort and relief to the victims for their essential needs to alleviate the grief and pain of losing lives and properties that they once had.
Though not bestowed with the equal physical strength of the male counterpart, many excelled even in sports in the likes of PAF (Rank) Hidilyn Diaz who, through sheer determination and love of sport gave the country its first-ever Olympic gold to gain honor and fame including fortune. Also, Bong Coo, is in bowling. Olivia “Bong” Coo is the most accomplished athlete of the Philippines, regardless of gender, in any sport. It is a fact that Filipina athletes have stood through the years on equal footing with their male counterparts. The accolades that our female athletes have garnered have been etched in the annals of Philippine sports and have helped lay the foundation on which the Filipina athletes of the present stand and continue to excel.
As we celebrate Women’s Month this March, we take a bow to all the athletes who paved the way and exemplified how strong, proud, and brave the Filipina truly is.
In the Air force, doctors, nurses, female officers from the Officer Candidate School, PMA and other source of commission who are now given the opportunity to work shoulder to shoulder with their male counterpart have, whether officers or from the ranks, excel in so many ways.
Among the first achievements are indicative of the agility and dependability of women in the PAF. As follows; the birth of female military pioneers soared high in the skies when two female officers successfully graduated as the first female military aviators who are products of the Officer Candidate School. PAF also paved the way to giving equal opportunities in promotion when the first military flight nurse was promoted to brigadier general.
Opportunities opened to military women as they were entrusted and designated to manage people and machines in delicate positions as first female commandant of the prestigious PAF Flying School and also the first female commandant of Air Force Officer School.
The first batch of female aviation cadets also proved their worth in commercial airlines and in military organization. While some graduates of the Philippine Military Academy also were successful in becoming the first female pilots from the academy. One PMA graduate who became a pilot was entrusted with a combat flying squadron as its commander while she was an instructor pilot in the helicopter she flew. First in the PAF also is the lady commander of a PAF Radar Surveillance Squadron that controls and warns aircraft either friend or foe. Moreover, two female enlisted personnel excelled and became the first systems engineer of the C-130 Hercules.
In gunship helis, mounted machine guns are not purely handled by men, this was proven by the first female heli gunner who distinguished herself in combat. The PAF also produced the very first female flight crew of jet aircraft being flown in the country.
Sadly, few of our female pilots were heroic in their chosen profession, among the pioneer batches of female Aviation Cadets died while performing combat missions. She was able to bring down her ill-fated aircraft to a clearer area avoiding populated communities instead of bailing out at once. Another female pilot died tragically during a recovery mission of another plane crash. She was the first search and rescue helicopter pilot during her time.
Their professionalism, agility, adaptability to any critical situation, and dependability on missions that usually put on the shoulders of men in uniform created their laudable standing in the field of military service that is worthy of accolade and recognition.
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