Lt Col Kathryn Anne Staiger, USAFR Oral History

title:

Lt Col Kathryn Anne Staiger, USAFR Oral History

creator:

Staiger, Kathryn Anne (Gotch) (1961 September 10 -

subject:

US Air Force Academy (USAFA) | Air Force | Air Force Reserve

description:

Kathy Staiger (formerly Gotch) was born in September 1961 as the second of four children. Her father was a pilot in the Air Force, and her mother worked in government contracts and as a computer programmer after all of their children were in school. Because of her father, she was always interested in joining the Air Force, and although she wasn’t confident she could get into the Air Force Academy, her mother encouraged her to apply anyways. She was accepted into a one-year Air Force Academy prep school, from which she was selected to attend the academy in 1980. She appreciated the year she spent in the prep school, since it made her feel acclimated to military life before classes began. The two hardest things for Kathy to adapt to were being so far from family, and adjusting to the elevation of Colorado Springs during physical fitness training. After briefly describing an assignment of hers in Russia for the International Nuclear Forces Agreement treaty, she returns to explain why she became a pilot in the first place. Although her father and grandfather were military pilots and her mother was a programmer for airplanes, she didn’t want to become a pilot herself until she was selected for a rid in an F-4 fighter. After graduating in 1984, she attended pilot training at Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock, Texas. After completing training, she was assigned to Zweibrucken, Germany as a C-23 pilot. Throughout her time in the military, she had trouble accessing flight suits that were built to fit women, and most bathrooms on airplanes were not built to accommodate women. Her most stressful assignments were in the Gulf Coast, operating on very little sleep and food while in a high-stress environment, and in Somalia, when their navigation system was broken and small arms fire was a consistent threat during landing and takeoff. She witnessed many restrictions on women pilots get lifted over her career. When she became a pilot, women could only fly transport, trainer, or tanker airplanes. Even the C-23, her first assignment, was only opened to women three weeks before she finished pilot training. Bomber, fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft were opened to women in 1991. She went from active duty to full-time in the Reserves in 1991, then became a part-time Reservist and airline pilot in 1997. As of the interview, she had a couple years left in the Reserves. As of the interview, Kathy held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. For her service, she was awarded an Airman's Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Aerial Achievement Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Meritorious Unit Award, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with two oak leaf clusters, Combat Readiness Medal with four oak leaf clusters, National Defense Service Medal with two service stars, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal with three service stars, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Air and Space Campaign Medal, Air Force Overseas Ribbon Long, Air Force Longevity Service Award Ribbon with four oak leaf clusters, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with three "M" devices, Small Arms Expert Marsmanship Ribbon (Pistol), Air Force Training Ribbon, Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), Kuwait Liberation Medal (Government of Kuwait). A transcript of this interview is available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Voss, Debbie

date:

2010-09-27

type:

Audio

format:

Microcassette

identifier:

1268; 2010.1268

source:

OHP

language:

English

relation:

437984

coverage:

1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 1980-1984 | 1984-1991 | 1991-interview

rights:

Unrestricted