Captain Jane Skiles O'Dea was one of the first six women to earn their wings as Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 pilots in 1974, and was the first woman qualified in the C-130 Hercules

C-130 Hercules

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...

. She was also the first Navy woman qualified as a flight instructor. She was the first female Navy aviator to achieve command (Navy Recruiting District, Indianapolis) and to be selected for the rank of captain.

Early life and education

O'Dea was born Jane Skiles in 1949 or 1950. Her father Paul, an architect, had served as a naval aviator

Naval Aviator

A United States Naval Aviator is a qualified pilot in the United States Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard.-Naming Conventions:Most Naval Aviators are Unrestricted Line Officers; however, a small number of Limited Duty Officers and Chief Warrant Officers are also trained as Naval Aviators.Until 1981...

 in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Her mother Claire had been a naval supply officer. O'Dea attended Theodore Roosevelt High School

Theodore Roosevelt High School (Des Moines)

Theodore Roosevelt High School, usually referred to simply as Roosevelt High School or TRHS, is a secondary school located on the west side of Des Moines, Iowa...

 in Des Moines, Iowa. She graduated from Iowa State University

Iowa State University

Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...

 with a degree in Political Science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

.

Navy career

O'Dea joined the Naval service in 1972. In 1974 she was 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 April 1974, one of the first six women to earn their wings as Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 pilots. The other five women to earn their wings were Barbara Allen Rainey

Barbara Allen Rainey

Barbara Ann Allen Rainey was the first female pilot in the U. S. armed forces. Rainey received her wings of gold as the first female to be designated a naval aviator in February 1974 and became the first Navy woman to qualify as a jet pilot. She attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the...

, Rosemary Bryant Mariner

Rosemary Bryant Mariner

Captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner was one of the first six women to earn their wings as a United States Naval Aviator in 1974.She was the first female military aviator to achieve command of an operational air squadron.- Early life and education :...

, Judith Ann Neuffer

Judith Neuffer

Judith Neuffer Bruner is one of the earliest successful examples of women attaining large scale achievement in male-dominated careers starting in the early 1970s. Her contributions to helping shatter the ‘glass ceiling’ for professional women, while not a life goal, were nonetheless significant. ...

, Ana Marie Fuqua, and Joellen Drag.

During her naval career, O'Dea spoke of her frustration with Congressional mandates that prevented military women from serving in combat. Because of the no-combat rules, the female pilots' opportunities for career advancement were somewhat limited. "It's very discouraging to know the best you can play on is the junior varsity team no matter how good you are," she said in a 1984 interview.

Retirement

O'Dea retired from the Navy with the rank of Captain on April 11, 1997. She had logged over 3,000 hours in the C-130, C-1A, T-34, and EC-130Q while assigned to VR-24, VT-2, USS Lexington

USS Lexington

USS Lexington may refer to one of many actual or fictional vessels:In the United States Navy:, a brigantine acquired in 1776 and captured in 1777, a sloop in commission from 1826 to 1830 and from 1831 to 1855, a timberclad gunboat in commission from 1861 to 1865, an aircraft carrier commissioned in...

(AVT-16), and VQ-4.

Further reading

• Pexton, Patrick. Closing Out First-Filled Careers: Navy's Female "Gray Eagles"

Are Calling it a Day. Navy Times 46:16 May 19, 1997.

• Pexton, Patrick. Five Women Aviators Fly Right. Navy Times 43:4 June 27, 1994.
• Pexton, Patrick. New Captains Have Flown Against Tradition. Navy Times 42:4 April 5, 1993.

External links

• The Year in Review (1997) Naval Aviation News by William T. Baker
• United States Naval Aviation 1910–1995 from the Naval Historical Center