Necessary Turbulence

50 years of women’s stories at the US Air Force Academy

I’m thankful to learn about this important book about the historic struggles and successes of women at the United States Air Force Academy. This journey continues today.

https://www.necessaryturbulence.com/

For fifty years, an extraordinary story has been hiding in plain sight.

Necessary Turbulence is a collective memoir of women who came of age inside systems that were not built for them—and learned, in real time, how to live, lead, and redefine themselves anyway.


In 1976, 157 young women marched beneath the words “Bring Me Men” at the top of a ramp leading into a world that had never imagined them. They and the more than 12,000 women who followed faced a contentious culture, inadequate facilities, and a system designed to break them.

Told they were destroying military standards, and promised they would never graduate, more than 8,000 women have proved the gatekeepers wrong.

From the crucible of Basic Cadet Training to the combat zones of Iraq and Afghanistan, from shattering the Combat Exclusion policy to leading at the highest military and civilian positions, these women reshaped not just the military, but the nation.