First women at Air Force Academy honored

Gen. Gabreski is an incredibly impressive, accomplished officer. The article below shows that she began her career doing great things for women in uniform from the time she was a second lieutenant and hasn't stopped busting boundaries since.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — History shows that the first women to enter the Air Force Academy arrived in the summer of 1976.

And history is wrong.

Months earlier, in a little-known chapter of Air Force lore, a dozen pioneering women, already officers, endured the hardships the first female cadets would soon face and kicked open the doors for women at the service academy.

“It laid the groundwork for what women now do as a routine part of our Air Force mission,” said Lt. Gen. Terry Gabreski, one of the dozen second lieutenants recruited as “air training officers.”

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Here's hoping her return to the Academy reminded her of her role as an example for women in uniform and the challenges they still face in a male-dominated culture. Thankfully, in spite of these challenges, she's well positioned to do so both system-wide and especially within her own command.

After all, 32 years wasn't that long ago; and present challenges show we still have a long way to go:

They were also the first to face the ingrained sexism at the Air Force Academy.

“We took a lot of heat,” said Gabreski, who now serves as vice commander of Air Force Material Command.