La Sauce was interviewed by the National Museum of the U.S. “It was a storybook ending to a perfect career,” she said. She added that while some of the senior NCOs initially didn’t want to work for a woman commander, it didn’t take them long to acknowledge she was the best commander they had ever worked for. “My personality was just right for that squadron.” “I could make a difference in cutting out a lot of the unnecessary regulations, and letting the young people give me their ideas on how they would like to do things better,” La Sauce said. She also obtained funding to replace a 25-year-old pallet scale with a digital one. Even though there were many Congresswomen who came through as passengers, there wasn’t a single item on either the aircraft or in the DV lounge that could accommodate their needs. One of the changes was adding items to the supply list specifically for women. She made some changes during her time at Andrews and while they may seem small, they showed that La Sauce paid attention to the needs not only of the distinguished visitors, but her Airmen as well. It was an assignment for me to make a bigger difference,” she said. “While I was there, there was President Mitterand and Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher … an exciting time. La Sauce considers commanding the aerial port squadron her most memorable assignment. After a staff tour at the Pentagon, she returned to Andrews AFB, where she became the first woman to command an aerial port squadron – one that supported the president of the United States. She flew the VC-135 and upgraded to aircraft commander. She was then selected as the first female pilot to fly in the 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews AFB, Maryland. While stationed at Norton AFB, California, she achieved three more “firsts” – first woman to be a C-141 aircraft commander, instructor pilot and flight examiner pilot. She trained on T-37 and T-38 aircraft during UPT, and chose to fly the C-141 cargo aircraft after graduating, giving her the ability to fly around the world. I knew that my success as a pilot and my career progression was extremely important to future generations of women who would follow after me,” La Sauce added. “We were considered a test program – a test program because there were political and military leaders who did not want us to succeed. They might not have opened up and removed the combat exclusion laws, so women wouldn’t be flying fighter aircraft, women wouldn’t be flying combat missions nor be test pilots or astronauts,” she said. “I realized that opportunities for women in the Air Force might have been limited. She thought of what it would mean if she didn’t succeed. “And some of them even said, ‘Well, if I had my way none of you would graduate.’”ĭespite the negativity, La Sauce didn’t let it stop her from achieving her goals. “Some of our flight commanders didn’t want us there,” she said. La Sauce said she found pilot training to be “extremely demanding but yet thrilling.” And while many Americans were celebrating the huge step in equal rights for women, not everyone was on board with the changes. My technical knowledge and my reputation in maintenance was undoubtedly the reason I was selected to be in the first class,” she said. “When I learned that they were going to open up flying to women I was excited about the possibility of the opportunity to learn to fly. So it was her next “first” that set the course for history – graduating in 1977 as a member of the first Undergraduate Pilot Training class that included women. And she may well have gone on to complete her career in aircraft maintenance were it not for the Air Force announcing a groundbreaking test program. Supervising maintenance personnel and coordinating the recovery, repair and launch of C-141s, C-5s and WC-130 typhoon chasers was a great life. “I spent seven months learning about all the systems of an aircraft – engines, hydraulics, electronics, aerodynamics – and I loved it!” La Sauce said. Next stop: Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois, where she became part of the first maintenance officer class to include women. Fortunately, the Air Force had just increased the number of women that would be allowed to serve, and it opened up some of the nontraditional career fields,” La Sauce explained. “When I graduated from college, I wanted my life to matter so I looked at joining the Air Force. She joined the Air Force in 1972 after receiving one of only two Officer Training School slots for the Long Island, New York, area. JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas – Kathy La Sauce didn’t blaze trails during her 20-year Air Force career.
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