Rosemary Bryant Mariner

Infobox Military Person
name=Rosemary Bryant Mariner
lived=1953-present


caption=
nickname=
placeofbirth=Texas
placeofdeath=
allegiance=United States
branch=Navy
serviceyears=1973-1997
rank=Captain
unit=
commands=VAQ-34
battles=
awards=
relations=
laterwork=

Captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner was one of the first six women to earn their wings as United States Navy pilots in 1974.cite book |last=Ebbert |first=Jean and Marie-Beth Hall|title=Crossed Currents: Navy Women from WWI to Tailhook [Revised] |date=1999 |publisher=Brassey's |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=978-1574881936 ] She was the first female military aviator to achieve command of an operational air squadron [ *cite news|author=|publisher=Washington Times|title=Woman to Head Navy Jet Squadron|date=June 8, 1990] .

Early life and education

Mariner was born Rosemary Ann Merims. She grew up in San Diego, California, with a keen interest in aircraft and flying. She worked odd jobs and washed aircraft to earn money for flying lessons and flight time. ] She graduated from Purdue University in December 1972 at age 19 with a degree in Aviation Technology. cite book |last=Douglas |first=Deborah G.|title=American Women and Flight Since 1940.|date=2003 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |location=Kentucky |isbn=0813190738] She had earned FAA flight engineer and pilot ratings before she joined the Navy. ] While in the Navy, Mariner earned a Master's degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College.

Navy career

Rosemary Bryant Mariner (then Rosemary B. Conatser) joined the Naval service in 1973 after being selected as one of the first eight women to enter military pilot training. She completed women's Officer Candidate School in Newport, RI, then headed to Pensacola, FL for flight training. ] She was designated a naval Aviator in June 1974, one of the first six women to earn their wings as Navy pilots. Mariner was first female military aviator to fly tactical jet aircraft, the A-4E/L Skyhawk, in 1975. In 1976, she converted to the A-7E Corsair II, the first woman to fly a front-line light attack aircraft.

In 1990 Mariner became the first military woman to command an operational aviation squadron and was selected for major aviation shore command. During Operation Desert Storm, she commanded Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron Thirty Four (VAQ-34). [ cite news |author=Nora Zamichow|publisher=Los Angeles Times|title=For Her, Sky's No Limit Command of Aviation Squadron Is Next Step in Cmdr. Mariner's Pioneering Career|date=June 25, 1990 ] Mariner was president of the Women Military Aviators organization from 1991 to 1993. [cite web |url = http://www.womenmilitaryaviators.org/about/history.asp |title = Women Military Aviators] Mariner retired after twenty-four years of military service, a veteran of seventeen carrier landings with over 3500 military flight hours in fifteen different naval aircraft. [cite news|author=Patrick Pexton|publisher=Navy Times|title=Closing Out First-Filled Careers: Navy's Female "Gray Eagles Are Calling it a Day."|date=May 16, 1997 ] Mariner's career is detailed in several books, including "Crossed Currents: Navy Women from WWI to Tailhook" ] , "Women in the Military: An Unfinished Revolution" [cite book |last=Holme |first= Jeanne Maj Gen, USAF (Ret)|title=Women in the Military: An Unfinished Revolution [Revised Edition] |date=1972 |publisher=Presidio Press |location=Novato, CA |isbn=0-089141-450-9 ] , "Tailspin: Women at War in the Wake of Tailhook" [ cite book |last=Zimmerman |first= Jean|title=Tailspin: Women at War in the Wake of Tailhook |date=1995 |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=9780385477895] , and "Ground Zero: The Gender Wars in the Military" [cite book |last=Franke |first=Linda Bird|title=Ground Zero: The Gender Wars in the Military|date=1997 |publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=9780684809748 ] .

Retirement

Mariner retired from the Navy with the rank of Captain at the end of 1997 as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) Professor of Military Studies for the National War College. She is a Visiting Fellow with the Center for the Study of War and Society and Lecturer in History Department at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Publications

*Mariner, Rosemary Bryant, " [http://www.ndu.edu/inss/Press/jfq_pages/JFQ1203.pdf A Soldier Is A Soldier] ", Joint Forces Quarterly, Winter 1993–94.

References

Further reading

*cite book |last=Douglas |first=Deborah G.|title=American Women and Flight Since 1940|date=2003 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |location=Kentucky |isbn=0813190738
*cite book |last=Ebbert |first=Jean and Marie-Beth Hall|title=Crossed Currents: Navy Women from WWI to Tailhook [Revised] |date=1999 |publisher=Brassey's |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=978-1574881936
*cite book |last=Franke |first=Linda Bird|title=Ground Zero: The Gender Wars in the Military|date=1997 |publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=9780684809748
*cite book |last=Grossnick |first= Roy A.|title=United States Naval Aviation 1910–1995 |date=1997 |publisher=Naval Historical Center|location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=0–945274–34–3
*cite book |last=Holden |first=Henry M. with Captain Lori Griffith|title=Ladybirds - The Untold Story of Women Pilots in America.|date=1991 |publisher=Black Hawk Publishing Co. |location= Mt. Freedom, NJ|isbn=9781879630116
*cite book |last=Holden |first=Henry M. |title=Ladybirds II: The Continuing Story of American Women in Aviation.|date=1993 |publisher=Black Hawk Publishing Co. |location= Mt. Freedom, NJ|isbn=9781879630123
*cite book |last=Holme |first= Jeanne Maj Gen, USAF (Ret)|title=Women in the Military: An Unfinished Revolution [Revised Edition] |date=1972 |publisher=Presidio Press |location=Novato, CA |isbn=0-089141-450-9
*cite book |last=Zimmerman |first= Jean|title=Tailspin: Women at War in the Wake of Tailhook |date=1995 |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=9780385477895

*cite news|author=Patrick Pexton|publisher=Navy Times|title=Closing Out First-Filled Careers: Navy's Female "Gray Eagles Are Calling it a Day|date=May 16, 1997 | url=
*cite news|author=Patrick Pexton|publisher=Navy Times|title=Five Women Aviators Fly Right|date=June 27, 1994 | url=
*cite news|author=Patrick Pexton|publisher=Navy Times|title=New Captains Have Flown Against Tradition|date=April 5, 1993 | url=
*cite news|author=|publisher=Washington Times|title=Woman to Head Navy Jet Squadron|date=June 8, 1990 | url=

See also

* Naval Aviation
* United States Navy

External links

* [http://www.history.navy.mil/nan/backissues/1990s/1998/ja98/review.pdf The Year in Review (1997)] Naval Aviation News by William T. Baker
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/org4-5.htm United States Naval Aviation 1910-1995] from the Naval Historical Center
* [http://www.chinalakealumni.org/Shipmates.htm Fallen Shipmates - China Lake]
* [http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Explorers_Record_Setters_and_Daredevils/99s/EX21.htm U. S. Centennial of Flight - The Ninety-Nines ]
* [http://www.ninety-nines.org/sixty.html The Ninety-nines: Sixty and Counting ]
* [https://my.tennessee.edu/portal/page?_pageid=91,46675&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL Study of War & Society - Personnel] University of Tennessee Knoxville
* [http://www.womenmilitaryaviators.org/about/history.asp Women Military Aviators]