Proud to Be: My Life, The Airforce, The Controversy
Author:
Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, History
Book Type: Hardcover
Author:
Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, History
Book Type: Hardcover
This book was a fascinating read on a lot of different levels.
1) With a very engaging narrative voice, Captain Flinn sets out to present her side of the debacle in which she was forced out of the military for adultery, i.e., having had a romantic relationship with the separated husband of a female enlisted person affiliated with Flinn's unit. She argues that some of the charges against her, such as disobeying orders, were trumped-up by essentially being applied retroactively, and that at the time of the affair, her ex-lover had lied to her and told her that he was in fact divorced (he also lied, Flinn says, in exaggerating some of the details of their affair to make it sound as bad as possible). In particular, she discusses the uneven application of regulations forbidding "adultery", to punish only female offenders, while male offenders were tacitly ignored. Finally, the proximate cause of charges being filed against her was a personal enemy's having pointed her (and many others) out in exchange for leniency in disciplinary actions he himself was facing.
2) Her description of the emotionally abusive relationship she had with Marc Zigo, and the of naivete which allowed her to take it for granted as a normal way to interact with someone, was a fascinating tale which rings all too true with some of my own experiences.
3) Most of all, I was fascinated by her account of life in the Air Force Academy, and training as a young Air Force pilot, particuarly as one of the first female Air Force pilots (and the first to fly the B-52). The book is actually much more about this than it is about the tragic way in which her career ended, and to hear about all these incredible experiences is fantastic, educational, and at times troubling. Highly recommended.
1) With a very engaging narrative voice, Captain Flinn sets out to present her side of the debacle in which she was forced out of the military for adultery, i.e., having had a romantic relationship with the separated husband of a female enlisted person affiliated with Flinn's unit. She argues that some of the charges against her, such as disobeying orders, were trumped-up by essentially being applied retroactively, and that at the time of the affair, her ex-lover had lied to her and told her that he was in fact divorced (he also lied, Flinn says, in exaggerating some of the details of their affair to make it sound as bad as possible). In particular, she discusses the uneven application of regulations forbidding "adultery", to punish only female offenders, while male offenders were tacitly ignored. Finally, the proximate cause of charges being filed against her was a personal enemy's having pointed her (and many others) out in exchange for leniency in disciplinary actions he himself was facing.
2) Her description of the emotionally abusive relationship she had with Marc Zigo, and the of naivete which allowed her to take it for granted as a normal way to interact with someone, was a fascinating tale which rings all too true with some of my own experiences.
3) Most of all, I was fascinated by her account of life in the Air Force Academy, and training as a young Air Force pilot, particuarly as one of the first female Air Force pilots (and the first to fly the B-52). The book is actually much more about this than it is about the tragic way in which her career ended, and to hear about all these incredible experiences is fantastic, educational, and at times troubling. Highly recommended.
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