She's Just Another Navy Pilot: An Aviator's Sea Journal [Hardcover]

Loree Draude Hirschman (Author), Dave Hirschman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 2000

S-3B pilot Hirschman describes her groundbreaking participation in one of the first Pacific aircraft carrier deployments to include female combat pilots.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press (May 12, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557503354
• ISBN-13: 978-1557503350
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,379,572 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Strongly recommended!, January 28, 2001

By 

Chapulina R (Tovarischi Imports, USA/RUS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: She's Just Another Navy Pilot: An Aviator's Sea Journal (Hardcover)

Before reading "She's Just Another Navy Pilot", I knew about the author from Jean Zimmerman's "Tailspin: Women at War in the Wake of Tailhook". I had seen her letters of rebuttal to reactionary editorial in the San Diego Union Tribune, and to unfavorably slanted articles in Newsweek. I knew her name as a successful Naval aviator and very credible advocate of women in her profession. When I received her book from Amazon, I opened it immediately, and did not put it down until I had finished it. What a fascinating autobiography of a most extraordinary person! Loree Draude Hirschman was one of the US Navy's first female fighter-pilots to transfer to fleet combat operations. She describes the early opposition to women in the jet-jock community and the sometimes open hostility she encountered. She details her first deployment, in which female aviators were isolated and ostracized. By the end of that cruise, one had been killed, another grounded for poor performance, and another had turned in her wings. But with perseverence and dignity, the majority of the sixteen women in the pioneer group had succeeded. By her second deployment, female aviators had already begun to find acceptance -- especially after one new F/A-18 pilot won the "Top Nugget Award" for best score in qualifications. (Loree herself earned placement in the Top Ten.) I hope this book will be read by opponants of female aviators. The author exposes the distortion of fact they have presented to the public. Yet she is refreshingly frank about problems which still exist in the gender-integrated Navy. I hope her book will be read by aspiring pilots in search of a role model. Her descriptions of flying and the flight deck are vivid, and make the reader feel right there with her. And her pride in her Naval service is inspiring, even though she relates her accomplishments with modesty.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She's the real deal!, July 10, 2003

By 

Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: She's Just Another Navy Pilot: An Aviator's Sea Journal (Hardcover)

While books like Jarhead become best-sellers, this
well-written account of a female navy pilot has remained
hidden from the mass market. And that's our loss.

Loree Draude Hirschman, daughter of a Marine general,
joined the aircraft carrier Lincoln as an S-3 pilot, and thereby made history. That year the Lincoln was the first West Coast based ship to depart with an integrated male-female crew. Hirschman flew jets off the deck of the carrier and brought them back -- a test of skill and professionalism. And she describes, in detail, life aboard a carrier, where the frustrations come more from living under a microscope than from battling with the enemy.

She probably pays more attention to details a woman would notice -- and enjoy reading about. For example, pilots work crazy hours, yet the mess officer was adamant that no cereal would be distributed after 10:30 AM! Four women in a cramped stateroom have to work to get along, especially when one brings her "boyfriend" home, in defiance of the rules.

Hirschman was ideally suited for her role. She knew how to be one of the boys and she genuinely enjoyed navy life. She has moments of doubt and despair, but overall she cares about her crew and manages to make a tough situation seem easy. I suspect she left only when her husband became medically disqualified; otherwise she'd probably be on her way too becoming an Admiral.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Insightful Book by an Amazing Person, May 10, 2000

By 

Kerri M. Scahill (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: She's Just Another Navy Pilot: An Aviator's Sea Journal (Hardcover)

Loree's book offers insight into a world many of us will never know. Her relaxed and descriptive writing style brings you into her world. As you read the book you are able to visualize what she is describing and feel both her elations and frustrations. Her honesty about her experiences with the controversial issue of women in combat positions is clear and her willingness to share her emotions in the midst of the experience is both touching and powerful. I laughed with her and cried for her chapter after chapter.

A modest person, Loree does not fully let on in the book what an amazing person she is. The book brings the reader into a representative and important part of her life but there is so much more to her. In addition to her dedication to the Navy, her country, and her family, she is one of the most creative and generally caring people I have had the honor to know.

I encourage you to read this book to educate yourself. Most of us have experienced women and men working together in the private sector and have heard much about the struggle of women to gain acceptance into the ranks of corporations. However, few have had the opportunity to understand this same challenge in the military. The deployment Loree describes in the book made strides to putting men and women on an even level, allowing them to work together to preserve the freedom many of us take for granted.