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Women sailors
Topic Started: Mar 29 2005, 07:24 PM (2,663 Views)
Ventisei26
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datu
Apr 5 2005, 09:07 AM
in a different note, the first woman/female to score a kill in a dogfight in history, was a certian Ethiopian pilots, Capt. Aster Tolossa, who in Feb. 26,1999 flying her Su-27, scored a kill in a dogfight against an Eritrean Mig-29...it was later acknowledged that the Mig-29 pilot was Capt. Talossa's former instructor.

Sorry tol, but if Ethiopian pilot Capt. Aster Tolossa is the first female to score a kill in a dogfight, then how come her name is not in the "First in Aviation" lists in Time Almanac 2004 Edition With Information Please? But it says, it was Soviet Lieutenant Lilya Litvyak, flying a Yak-1 fighter of the women's 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment, shot down two German planes over Stalingrad on Sept 13, 1942.




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Iron lady

By Gobleth Moulic
Inquirer News Service


HERS was among the prettiest faces that conquered the male-dominated Philippine Military Academy (PMA).

Such a fragile-looking young lady from an exclusive girls' high school in Metro Manila would probably balk at doing push-ups, sit-ups, long-jumps and other strenuous physical fitness tests (PFT) in Asia's premier military training institution, people thought.

But Michelle Cruz, a newly commissioned Navy Ensign, did all that and eventually ranked fourth among the 102 graduates of PMA Class Mandarangan of 2003.

When the 5' 4" Cruz of Quezon City entered the PMA in 1999, male cadets viewed her as just another lovely colegiala who, out of curiosity and adventure, was trying hard to be part of the prestigious PMA. Her family and friends, including her then boyfriend, never imagined she would seriously pursue a military career.

She could have completed her accountancy course at the Far Eastern University and managed her own business like she had been dreaming of, but she chose otherwise. It hadn't been easy, with her former boyfriend telling her, "You don't belong there. Why don't you take a course that suits women like you?" Because she looked "feminine," not a few men inside and outside the PMA predicted that, like the others, she would soon succumb to pressure and quit the academy.

Of the 35 women who passed the PMA entrance examination in 1999, only 20 survived the rigorous physical exercises. Of this number, only seven graduated from the original batch to become Class Mandarangan of 2003. Some were either discharged or withdrew for various reasons.

Despite mounting protests from friends coupled with negative views from some men on the entry of female cadets, Cruz persevered and defied the odds because of two people: her grandfather, retired Col. Castulo Duque, and a woman she has yet to meet-Arlene de la Cruz-the first woman to top a PMA class since the academy started accepting women in 1993.

Col. Duque, a World War II veteran, used to be based in Lipa City, Batangas. "He consistently encouraged me to enter the PMA because it was his dream that one of his grandchildren would at least become a member of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines). He was frustrated that he never had the chance to study in the academy," says Cruz.

She was a high school graduate when she read about De La Cruz in the newspaper. "That was when I learned about the PMA's existence," she recalls. Determined to succeed, she decided to enter the Academy.

Like a lamb entering a lion's den, Cruz had to deal with some upperclassmen who believed that women have no place in the PMA. "Although some male cadets welcomed us, there were still others who never liked us. They believed that women receive special treatment because the PMA had to bend some rules to accommodate us," says Cruz.

Since the entrance of female cadets in 1993, the PFT has been modified because of the physiological differences between male and female cadets. The PFT for women have the same components applied for men, but with some variation on the manner of execution. For example, females do the push-up with the knees bent, touching the floor.

This does not mean, however, that women receive special treatment at the academy. Cruz stresses that both male and female cadets attend the same classes and undergo the same training. "We are treated equally," she says.

But it took one test to prove she could be as tough as men. During the compulsory 3.2-km run, Cruz surprised everyone when she broke the record set for men and women's passing time. To pass the PFT--a component of the cadet's total grade in Physical Education-male cadets should make the finish line in 15 minutes and 44 seconds or less, the women, within 17 minutes and 30 seconds. Otherwise the cadet would have to repeat the same event to recover his or her deficiency.

Cruz says male cadets were shocked when she broke the record at 15 minutes and 28 seconds, quite a feat for women who are generally perceived to be physically weaker than men.

How she managed to do that is in itself a story of personal struggle. Cruz admits that since some male cadets considered them as the weaker sex, she and other women cadets became more determined to push themselves to the limits. Cruz and this year's valedictorian, Tara Velazco, were roommates.

"Because some men looked down on us, we strove to do our best. We endured every hurdle because we have to prove something to our male counterparts," she says.

Cruz, her batch's "crush ng bayan (college sweetheart)," admits that her male mistahs and some upperclassmen attempted to win her heart, especially after she broke up with her boyfriend who was studying in Manila.

No man, however, prevailed for two reasons: female cadets are forbidden to have amorous relationships with their male counterparts, and she wanted to concentrate on her academics.

"I politely turned persistent suitors down. I treated them as my brothers," says Cruz. "I would say, Bok (pet name for a fellow cadet), wala namang ganyanan (don't do that)," she adds.

But she admits to having a romantic date when she celebrated her birthday at the PMA on Feb. 14. She also went out with friends and pampered herself at the beauty parlor.

Did her good looks ever make her a target of sexual harassment?

Fortunately, she was never sexually harassed by anyone, says Cruz, adding that she would never allow it to happen. It is, she says, a violation of the PMA's Honor Code if the cadet does not report the harassment in 24 hours. If found guilty, the culprit could be discharged or barred from entering the Academy.

"Having an affair with someone is a call of nature," she says. "But sexual harassment is another matter. There must be something wrong with the cadet if he molests someone," she adds.

If the Philippines is ready for an all-female maritime crew, Cruz says she wants to be the first female captain of that ship.

Well, it certainly looks like smooth sailing for this top cadet.


Well, I hope her dream of becoming the first female captain of any navy ships will come true.
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datu
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ventesei26:
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Sorry tol, but if Ethiopian pilot Capt. Aster Tolossa is the first female to score a kill in a dogfight, then how come her name is not in the "First in Aviation" lists in Time Almanac 2004 Edition With Information Please? But it says, it was Soviet Lieutenant Lilya Litvyak, flying a Yak-1 fighter of the women's 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment, shot down two German planes over Stalingrad on Sept 13, 1942.



Could be, could not be, in older propeller driven planes. the distinction of a first kill in the jet fighter age goes to Capt. Tolossa. next time ill go and put jet age in the post. read in acig.org: http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_189.shtml. it reports the first female kill in jet to jet dogfight was Capt. Tolossa.

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Only 24 hours later, a new - but highly interesting - engagement developed over the Badme area. This time, a lonesome Su-27S, flown by female pilot Capt. Aster Tolossa, was escorting several MiG-21s on a strike mission, when a single aircraft was detected, closing from the direction of Asmara. Capt. Tolossa turned to intercept and identified the target as an - apparently unarmed - Eritrean MiG-29UB. After some maneuvering, during which there was some kind of communications exchange between the crew of the MiG and the Sukhoi, the Ethiopian was high at enemy's 6 o'clock, when she realized that the pilot of the aircraft in front of her was her former instructor. Capt. Tolossa immediately warned him that she was about to shot him down, and requested the Eritrean to land at Debre Zeit. He disobeyed, and Tolossa pulled the trigger. Exactly which weapon was used this time remains unknown, but it is highly likely that the Ethiopian used at least two air-to-air missiles, both of which were evaded, and then finished the target with 30mm gunfire. The Eritrean pilot was certainly experienced enough to evade two missiles, and he also knew who and where was the enemy. While it remains unknown if anybody ejected from that MiG-29UB, it is certain that Capt. Tolossa was given a hero's wellcome back at her base; with right, then she was the first female fighter-pilot to show down an enemy fighter-jet in the history of air warfare.




"F*ck it, Dude. Let's go bowling."
---The Big Lebowski
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datu
Apr 5 2005, 09:07 AM
the US navy used the argument that if women are pregnant while on missions in an already cramped submarine, the navy will need to make space and build different facilities for females, and multiply this to all USN submarines. they think its just too much hassle. aussies have females with seperate facilities for pregnant women in their submarines.

in a different note, the first woman/female to score a kill in a dogfight in history, was a certian Ethiopian pilots, Capt. Aster Tolossa, who in Feb. 26,1999 flying her Su-27, scored a kill in a dogfight against an Eritrean Mig-29...it was later acknowledged that the Mig-29 pilot was Capt. Talossa's former instructor.

i know there are women flying choppers in PAF but are there qualified for jet fighter ?
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Bat21
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cindy
Mar 29 2005, 07:24 PM
do we have women sailors on board our ships, sa US diba they have women captains and officers and ordinary sailors?


Just found this out to answer this question. We do have Philippine female sailors officers and enlisted aboard Philippine Naval vessels. According to the Philippine Navy book TIDES OF CHANGE we also have an all female boat crew. Ensign Marissa Andres was the first Filipina assigned to ship duty as a mess and supply officer.
check it out here: http://www.navy.mil.ph/Dloads/Tides_of_Change.pdf. It make take a while to load.
Hope that helps . . .

God bless . . .


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datu
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I know there are women flying choppers in PAF but are there qualified for jet fighter ?


To have qualified jet fighter pilots, women nonetheless, we need to have jet fighters, which we dont have at the moment. We have certified female OV-10 pilots, one crashed and died -rest in peace- and got a Medal of Valor. There were female pilot(s) training on S.211s, I dont know if anyone got certified. I know sometime in 93, an S.211 crashed in Batangas but both crew ejected safely, the student pilot was a female.

I know way out of the topic of women in Navy but I would like to ask a question. I heard a story, love story if i may add, that after a female MG-530 pilot crashed and was killed, her boyfriend who was training in an S.211 got depressed and several days later commited suicide by purposely crashing the plane he was piloting, and killed himself and his instructor as a result. Is this true or just another Filipino love story?


"F*ck it, Dude. Let's go bowling."
---The Big Lebowski
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We have certified female OV-10 pilots, one crashed and died -rest in peace- and got a Medal of Valor.


Lt Mary Grace Baloyo was an OV-10 pilot. She is not a recipient of the Medal of Valor although she was a recipient of several awards for valor in combat including the Gold Cross, the Distiniguished Aviation Cross and the Bronze Cross. She was killed in an OV-10 accident in Central Luzon.

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datu
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Lt Mary Grace Baloyo was an OV-10 pilot. She is not a recipient of the Medal of Valor although she was a recipient of several awards for valor in combat including the Gold Cross, the Distiniguished Aviation Cross and the Bronze Cross. She was killed in an OV-10 accident in Central Luzon.


So that's her name, okay. This site however states she got a Medal of Valor posthumously, awarded to her by PArroyo, accepted by her parents on her behalf. Is this site wrong?
http://www.angelfire.com/ga/batwentyone/valor.html


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In the Philippines, she was the first,“the Medal of Valor, awarded for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty is awarded to First Lieutenant Mary Grace Pango Baloyo, Philippine Air Force “ . . . says the citation.During the award ceremonies, the celebration is always unique and rare. But this day’s event will have a different scene. When the medal was presented, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo hung the medal around Mr. Romeo Baloyo’s neck. For the honoree, his daughter, Mary Grace herself was no where to be found
...

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The Armed Forces of the Philippines did not hesitate to recognized Lt. Baloyo’s Bravery. Her deputy commander at the 15th Strike Wing, Air Force Lt. Colonel Amador Alojado who also escorted the flag draped casket to Bacolod City recommended a posthumous Military Merit Medal award that will be upgraded to a Distinguished Service Star for her heroism that day instead of the Medal of Valor. After all, the MOV was a medal warranting a combat act and Baloyo, herself a combatant have been there and survived them all. But the sense of duty at the highest calling she gave that day deserved the highest honor. An honor that separated her from the rest. She was then conferred the Medal of Valor awarded posthumously and a promotion to the rank of Air Force Captain. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the Commander in Chief personally handed the medal to Lt. Baloyo’s parents, Romeo and Annie. And with that, history was made. First Louie Grace became the first woman in the Philippines to received her country’s highest military award for heroism and joined the hall of the famed and the few.




"F*ck it, Dude. Let's go bowling."
---The Big Lebowski
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dororodo
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its bat21's site, he's also a poster here, maybe he can clarify things but my question if this is true - is crashing a plane in a non-combat mission enough reason for a MOV award?
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Bat21
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My infomation about Lt. Baloyo came from Philippine newspapers on-line and it's all the resouces I have.
Are we supposed to award MOV to non-combat missions? I don't think so. But even the US military have awarded the MOH to their soldiers I believe by just being a POW during the Vietnam war. I know its' confusing. Those two PA Scout Rangers that were awarded recently the MOV weren't they prisoners? I could be wrong.
I don't know about Lt. Baloyo. According to resources she did risked and gave her life (that others may live) which was above and beyond the call of duty. Some pilots would have done otherwise like using the ejection seat. Lt. Baloyo had that choice.
I hope that helps.
God bless . . .
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fieldmouse
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Not to dishonor Lt. Baloyo's death in the service of her country but I think the AFP should be more 'strict' in awarding the MOV or else it would risk turning this highest miltary honor into a commodity.

the mouse assault
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