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 Duke, Double, Shotgun, and Dirty—names never given to the daughters of America—are the call signs of four F-16 pilots who just happen to be women.
The world is changing, and the faces of those who fight our wars are also changing. While women have been flying combat missions since the early 1990s, four female pilots in the same squadron at the same time is still rare, if not a first for an F-16 unit. The 36th FS at Osan AB, Republic of Korea, also known as the “Flying Fiends,” welcomes the talent and dedication these four women bring to this F-16 squadron. What has always been the most exclusive of brotherhoods, that of the pilots privileged to fly the world’s premier multirole fighter, is now becoming the brother-and-sisterhood of America’s best and bravest. These females and their male colleagues uphold US commitments to the Republic of Korea and peace in northeast Asia.
 So, what brought these four female Fiends to Osan? Two still aspire to become astronauts. One is the daughter of a career Navy man who served on aircraft carriers. Two graduated from the Air Force Academy, class of 1996. One majored in math at the University of Georgia, and one graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Two are married to F-16 pilots stationed in the 8th FW at Kunsan AB, Korea. One is married to a T-37 instructor in Air Education and Training Command. One is single. Two are on their second operational F-16 assignments. Two are on their first assignment, after previously serving as T-38 instructors. Like their male contemporaries, they were attracted to the F-16 by its multirole mission, single seat, advanced avionics, and the challenge of pushing their own capabilities.
 Each of the four has developed the ability to fit into a male-dominated environment. “I learned at the Academy that the only way to fit in is to be yourself,” says Kerre “Duke” Scarborough. “Women who choose to fly fighters are much like men who choose to fly fighters,” explains Sheryl “Double” Ott. “As soon as male pilots see that female pilots are just as capable as they are, most of the problems go away.”
“Women fighter pilots need to be tough,” says Dawn “Dirty” Hokaj. “To succeed in this career, they have to be able to dish out what the men can dish out. They need a fighter pilot mentality. They have to be open to honest criticisms. If I have a bad flight, my fellow pilots let me know about it.”
 “Women need a thick skin,” explains Esther “Shotgun” McElhinney. “The guys need a thick skin, too. We come back from every mission and watch the tapes. In those debriefings, we basically destroy each other for two hours. We detail everything we did wrong to try to improve our skills. No one sugarcoats these debriefings because a woman is in the room.”
These four pilots all think like warriors. “I fell in love with the absolute concept of the military and of knowing that I was going to serve my country,” says Scarborough. “Going to war is my job. It’s also what I can give back to my country.”
 “I’ve explained to my family that this is what I choose to do,” says Hokaj. “They shouldn’t blame the Air Force if something happens to me. This is my choice. We have to be as safe as we can in combat. But we have to get the mission done.”
“I’ve spent two deployments flying over Iraq,” says McElhinney. “While they weren’t exactly combat deployments, I was shot at many times. When it comes down to it, everyone is here to do a job. Who cares whether the pilot is male or female? This job is not harder for women; it is just different. We share those hardships with the people we love and trust. We get up every day, put on our flight suits, and walk proudly into our fighter squadron knowing how blessed we are to have the opportunity to serve our country and a cause greater than ourselves.”
Rene Ekman is an aviation photographer based in Japan.
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