BRIEFING

MISSING WOMAN FORMATION

An aerial salute during graveside services for U.S. Navy Captain Rosemary Mariner in Maynardville, Tenn., this past February marked a fitting departure for a modern-day pathfinder: For the first time, all those participating in what is traditionally referred to as the “missing man” formation were in fact women.

Captain Mariner logged more than 3,500 flight hours in 15 aircraft types during her 24-year Navy career, including a roster of firsts: among the first eight women chosen to fly Navy aircraft (1973); first female pilot to fly the Douglas A-4C and LTV A-7E Corsair II for the Navy; first female commander of an operational air squadron (1990); and among the first woman pilots to qualify as a surface warfare officer.

Mariner went on magazine, for example, she stressed that the decision to allow a service member to serve in combat should reflect individual ability rather than gender. During another interview Mariner explained that “in modern warfare, the emphasis is not on physical strength but on brain power, operating sophisticated weapons systems.”