Kelly Flinn (whose surname was sometimes misspelled as Flynn; born December 23, 1970) is a former
B-52
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...
pilot in the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
(USAF). She was the first female pilot to serve in that capacity.
She was discharged from the U.S. Air Force in 1997 after an adulterous affair with the husband of an enlisted subordinate, for military offenses including disobeying a direct order from her commanding officer to break off the affair, and for twice lying under oath to investigators about having done so.
The scandal received widespread media attention at the time and was discussed in a U.S. Senate hearing on May 22, 1997.
[
Kelly Flinn worked as a commercial pilot for ]Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...
after leaving the Air Force.
Background
Flinn was born in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
,[ the youngest of five children.][ She decided to become a pilot after attending Space Camp in ]Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in t ...
.[ She attended the ]U.S. Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Unit ...
, undergraduate pilot training, and follow-on B-52 bomber training, becoming the first female B-52 pilot in the USAF.[
]
Charges, media coverage, and disposition
On May 20, 1997, following an adulterous affair with a civilian soccer coach at Minot Air Force Base
Minot Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force installation in Ward County, North Dakota, north of the city of Minot via U.S. Route 83. In the 2020 census, the base was counted as a CDP with a total population of 5,017, down from 5,521 in 2 ...
who was married to a female enlisted subordinate in her chain of command, Flinn was charged by the military with conduct unbecoming an officer, disobeying a lawful order (in writing, to stay away from the married man), making a false official statement in which she lied under oath to Air Force investigators, falsely telling them she had ended the affair,[ and fraternization (for an additional affair that she had with an enlisted man).]
Flinn's case, due in part to her high visibility in Air Force recruitment advertisements, drew national attention, eventually creating a media circus. The Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General Ronald Fogleman
Ronald Robert Fogleman (born January 27, 1942) is a retired United States Air Force general who served as the 15th Chief of Staff of the Air Force from 1994 to 1997 and as Commanding General of the United States Transportation Command from 1992 t ...
, testified at a congressional hearing that, "In the end, this is not an issue of adultery. This is an issue about an officer, entrusted to fly nuclear weapons, who lied."[ The media, however, largely treated the case as though Flinn were being tried by the military for the crime of ]adultery
Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
, and castigated the Air Force for allegedly firing her on moral grounds; a ''New York Times'' editorial on the case emphasized the adultery, rather than the actual military charges with which she was charged, and blamed the military's "antiquated adultery rules and their consistency in administering them, as well as their management training."
Following the media outcry, Flinn was allowed to resign from the Air Force by Secretary of the Air Force
A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
Sheila Widnall
Sheila Marie Evans Widnall (born July 13, 1938) is an American aerospace researcher and Institute Professor Emerita at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She served as United States Secretary of the Air Force from 1993 to 1997, makin ...
with a general discharge
A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...
instead of facing a court-martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
.[ She later wrote a book recounting her experiences, entitled ''Proud to Be: My Life, The Air Force, The Controversy'' (; ).
]
See also
* Jeannie Leavitt
Jeannie Marie Leavitt (née Flynn; born 1967) is a United States Air Force (USAF) general officer. She became the U.S. Air Force's first female fighter pilot in 1993, and was the first woman to command a USAF combat fighter wing. In April 2021, ...
, first female United States Air Force fighter pilot
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flinn, Kelly
1970 births
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American military personnel
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American women writers
American autobiographers
Aviators from Missouri
Bomber pilots
Women military aviators
Living people
Military personnel from St. Louis
United States Air Force Academy alumni
United States military scandals
Women autobiographers
Women in the United States Air Force
Women military writers
Writers from Missouri
American women aviators
American women non-fiction writers