Hawai'i woman flies in combat

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

Dana Young was hooked on flying after her first instruction flight in a bright red single-engine Cessna 150 — the "red baron" she called it.

Navy Lt. Dana Young and other battle group members display a flag that New York City firefighters raised above the site of the World Trade Center. It was given to the USS Theodore Roosevelt by New York Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Photo courtesy Dana Young

As it turned out, flying would get considerably more exciting.

These days, the Navy lieutenant is fired off the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt at more than 140 miles per hour at the controls of an E-2C Hawkeye.

Young, a 1990 Kamehameha graduate, is a combat pilot aboard the carrier that has had a high-profile role in attacks on the Taliban and al-Qaida network in Afghani-stan.

Since arriving off the coast of Pakistan Oct. 16, "The Big Stick" has been a busy place, with fighters and support aircraft roaring off the deck day and night.

On Thursday, the Navy drew an even finer bead.

"We've driven the al-Qaida bunch into hiding and (the caves) are one of the places where they may be. We want to go after the leadership, that's where the center of gravity is," Rear Adm. Mark Fitzgerald said, without disclosing specific targets.

Navy Lt. Dana Young, a 1990 Kamehameha graduate, stands in front of the E-2C Hawkeye she flies off the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Arabian Sea. Photo courtesy Dana Young

From an operating altitude above 25,000 feet, the twin turboprop aircraft topped by a 24-foot rotating radome warns the naval task force of approaching air threats and provides threat identification and positional data to fighter aircraft.

With the air threat suppressed early on in Afghani-stan, Young's mission is more command and control — providing strike and traffic control, area surveillance and search and rescue guidance.

"We are the eyes and ears of the battle group and play a vital role in any strike," said Young, who can't discuss mission specifics. "I'll just say that we have to be close enough to the combat zone to be able to communicate and perform our jobs with the fighters."

Young said the tempo requires pilots to be extra cautious and "on our game" all the time.

"Flying around the carrier is like organized chaos," the Hawai'i woman said via e-mail from the Roosevelt. "To any civilian it would look like we're trying to kill each other out there but our movements are carefully orchestrated."

At any one time, Young, whose call sign is "Nooner," said there may be 10 to 20 aircraft launching, and a similar number getting ready to recover.

"For the most part during the day, our launches and recoveries are 'zip lip' or done without talking on the radios," she said. "That means everybody has to know the procedures for flying around the boat and keep a good lookout to see what everyone else is doing. Once you know what is going on, it's a lot of fun to be a part of the symphony."

Young, who has lived in Hawai'i Kai and Kane'ohe, is one of just two female combat pilots aboard the Roosevelt, and among 600 women that are part of the crew of 5,500.

Being outnumbered by men in aviation is the case everywhere, and Young said she is used to it. She said she feels like she is "just one of the guys when it comes to being with the other pilots of the air wing."

But Young added she is reminded of just how rare it is for a woman to be flying off a carrier when an enlisted woman sees her in the hallway, and says with her mouth agape, "Wow, a female pilot."

She's also been a favorite for media cameras to focus on during preflight preparations. The same cameras singled her out as she listened to the secretary of the Navy's briefing in a crowded hangar.

Women sailors were first allowed to train as pilots in 1976, and were selected to fly cargo and surveillance planes.

But the strikes in Afghanistan represent only the second major U.S. military campaign since the Navy decided to allow women to fly combat aircraft in 1993. Kosovo was the first such opportunity.

"If you're qualified to do the job, then you're qualified to do the job. That's all there is to it," Young said. She added she thinks it is great whenever she hears a female voice over the radio, and recently heard a female voice calling from a B-1 bomber.

Young came home for a couple of years after graduating from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1994, and went to work for Aloha Airlines while earning money and studying to get her private pilot's license.

"It occurred to me that the military actually paid for you to go to flight school and make it a career, so I applied and the Navy scooped me up," she said.

She was assigned to VAW-123, the Screwtops, in July 2000.

While on the Roosevelt, Young has been able to stay in touch with family and friends via e-mail. The squadron has about 20 computers for use, and Young said she's on one of them daily, seeing pictures of her dad, a retired Honolulu police officer, and her mom, a school nurse with the Department of Defense Schools at Aviano Air Base in Italy.

Her mother, Sandy Young, said "I'm awed, I'm proud, I'm frightened — probably every emotion comes to mind," when asked how she felt about her daughter flying aircraft off a carrier deck in the Arabian Sea.

Her daughter's spirits and messages bind the entire family and friends closer together, she said.

"It's amazing how we've all gotten re-connected in support of her," Sandy Young said. She now has a mission of her own: making up care packages that make mail call something for Dana to look forward to.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.