Rebecca Ohm is a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

officer and the first female fighter pilot at the 180th Fighter Wing and within the state of Ohio selected to fly a

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...

. Her aviator call sign is "Buffy". Ohm is Commander of the 180th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 180th Fighter Wing,

Toledo Air National Guard Base Toledo Express Airport, officially Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport , is a civil-military airport in Swanton and Monclova townships west of Toledo in western Lucas County, Ohio, United States. It opened in 1954–55 as a replacement t ...

, Swanton, Ohio.

Career

Ohm began her career at the 180th Fighter Wing in January 1993 where she was assigned to the Aircraft Maintenance Squadron as a flight line crew chief. In 1994, she was selected for a pilot slot at the 180th Fighter Wing, becoming the first female fighter pilot at the 180th Fighter Wing and within the state of Ohio. Ohm has been on several combat deployments and received the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

in support of Operation Northern Watch, Operation Southern Watch, and

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

. Ohm was the first female fighter pilot within the state of Ohio to become an

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...

instructor pilot. She was interviewed in ''Air Force TV News'' on 2015 women's history month.

References

Living people Female officers of the United States Air Force Articles containing video clips Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women {{USAF-bio-stub