Of all the branches of the armed forces, the Air Force has been, from the beginning, the most receptive toward recruiting women.

In World War II, the Army Air Force recruited an astounding 40 percent of all women in the armed forces! Under the AAF, women were assigned to highly responsible positions including jobs as weather observers and forecasters, cryptographers, radio operators and repairmen, sheet metal workers, parachute riggers, link trainer instructors, bombsight maintenance specialists, aerial photograph analysts and control tower operators. WACS in the AAF were also assigned flying duties.

In today's Air Force, women regularly pilot bomber planes and are permitted to engage in strategic air strikes.

Learn about Selma Cronan's experiences as one of the first American airwomen and Lisa Stein's experiences as a Jewish airwoman in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm.