On of the Navy's first female fighter pilots reveals the shocking truth about life in the elite ranks of warrior-like fighter pilots.
Not since Tailhook has the Navy seen a scandal of such magnitude. Hornet's Nest is the compelling and often shocking account of one of the Navy's first female fighter pilots, Missy Cummings. Hornet's Nest follows Missy from graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy through the Navy's very demanding and often very dangerous flight training. After graduating from jet training in the top of her class, Missy is assigned to an adversary squadron in the Philippines. Her recounting of this tour seems often surreal as she describes the sexually predatory atmosphere of military installations overseas which is condoned at the highest levels.
Missy is then selected to transition into the fighter combat squadrons in 1993 when the combat exclusion law is repealed. The Navy and especially the fighter communities are not ready to accept women warriors in the roles of fighter pilots. Her tour in fighters is marked by blatant discrimination and criminal acts of sabotage by both her peers and superiors. Because of her extremely hostile work environment, Missy eventually resigns fro the Navy. This real life drama concludes with a critical analysis of the integration of women into combat pilot roles, and the future of women in combat aviation.
Excerpt
Rarely do I get an opportunity to read a manuscript written in the "whole cloth" of someone who has been there and done that, but which is also articulately written and artfully constructed. Hornet's Nest is a perfect example of such a phenomenon…we should feel privileged to share this… (Rear Admiral Paul T. Gillcrist, USN (Ret.), author of Feet Wet, Reflections of a Carrier Pilot) —Paul T. Gillcrist
A brutally honest book by a courageous naval officer. Cummings' Hornet's Nest is a must read for anybody who wants the real inside story about the United States Navy. (Gregory L. Vistica, Newsweek Correspondent and author of Fall From Glory, the Men Who Sank the U.S. Navy) —Gregory L. Vistica
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Reviews for "Hornet's Nest: The Experiences of One of the Navy's First Female Fighter Pilots"
Reviewed by Neil Yubich
5/8/2006
Interesting how she plays herself off as an F-18 pilot when she washed out of training went to a Congress woman to get reinstated and washed out again. Classic example of Missy not being accountable for her own actions. It's the Navy's fault she wasn't a good enough pilot not hers. So is the next logical step go out and write a book smearing the Navy for having flight standards that she couldn't meet? This shows a gross lack of professionalism and void of maturity. I don't have much respect for an individual such as her and am thankful that our Navy maintains such strict standards.
Reviewed by Mike
4/10/2002
She's nothing more than a quiter. She couldn't handle the pressure of the military and wasted million's of dollars of tax payers money while real hero's serve our country without complaining.
Reviewed by Debbie Brigadier
4/7/2002
This is as accurately depicted as it can be without requiring your actual presence. As someone who has shared some of the events side-by-side with Missy, I know them to be true in every sense. She has been without fear of criticism from her fellow female pilots which has endeared her to anyone who has dared to speak out publically against what even women have come to expect!
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