Fly Away - a fighter pilot story

Chapter 4 - I Ain't Worried

"They are called slightly different in the Navy, but I get it. And the thing with the call-sign is the same in the Navy, but it was different for me. I will tell you later."

"Now you piqued my interest. But one thing after another. Right after IFF I got awarded my plane. The F-22 Raptor. As far as I know the former pilot of that plane left the Air Force and the commanders were looking for someone to be placed right away. Every other pilot they wanted was either deployed or their commanders didn't want to let them go. Since I always passed every test with the highest scores and all my instructors starting back in IFT to the ones in IFF praised me, they gave me the slot and awarded me the Raptor. I had no other choice than to move from Sheppard to Elmendorf AFB, where my new squadron was located."

"Ouch, your first assignment was in Alaska. I kind of feel sorry for you."

"It was okayish. Still better than at Langley, but that's a story for another time. Anyways, almost everyone of my squadron was deployed at that time and I had about four months to learn everything I could about my new plane, before flying down to Nellis to take part of Operation Red Flag so I would be able to get some real experience of what it would be like in the field."

"They only gave you four months? Jesus, that plane is really complicated. However, the request about Red Flag is fairly reasonable, as it gives you a great opportunity to get your first ten flights in. I wish, I had an opportunity like that."

"Not you too. Please don't start the speech about, if you survive your first ten flights, your chances of surviving throughout your career improve dramatically.", I say and he shoots me an apologetic look, before focusing back on the road.

"Anyways during the first four months a pilot from another squadron had this big idea of giving me a call-sign. He and almost everyone else started to call me Ta-Tas. First two letters of my name and because I have big boobs compared to other female officers who were stationed on the base.", I explain, and I am surprised when I don't hear him laughing or see him checking out my boobs.

"That's just ridiculous. Were they fifteen-year-old pubescent teenagers or officers who hold a degree and completed Air Force training?"

"Actually, I was glad to finally have a call-sign. To be part of it all. To have the full experience. However, a high-ranking officer overheard my call-sign and was pissed. He forbad everyone to call me that way as it is disrespectful and degrading. Everyone who did was punished with various tasks."

"So, when and where did you earn your call-sign? It's clearly not Ta-Tas anymore."

"At Red Flag. I met three other pilots of my squadron there. I was nervous as hell, because I didn't want to fuck something up. I was already the new one. I was a woman. People can get weird about the fact, that a fighter pilot is a woman. I mean it got better over the last few years. Anyways every pilot from the US and especially the ones from overseas was looking at our F-22 and wanted to know things about it. At that time, I didn't really know what I was allowed to tell them and what not. Thus, I told them something I shouldn't have and fucked up. It wasn't something dramatic or something we didn't share a few days later, but it got me my first sit-down by a colonel."

"It's not your fault. There should have been clear instructions on what you could and couldn't say. The system and your fellow officers failed you. But what happened after that?"

"I went back to my squadron, and we completed our first mission together. During it I fucked up again, because I was too overwhelmed being surrounded by so many different planes. Flying with all of them in formation. The following three days I always did something to upset someone. Looking back now, I think they tried to test me and see what I am made of, but it was tough. Everything I did was criticized.