Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Jane Skiles O'Dea was one of the first six women to earn their wings as

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

pilots in 1974, and was the first woman qualified in the

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

. She was also the first woman in the U.S. Navy qualified as a

flight instructor A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to operate aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate ...

. She was the first female Navy aviator to achieve command (Navy Recruiting District, Indianapolis) and to be selected for the rank of captain.

Early life and education

O'Dea was born Jane Skiles on April 11, 1950.https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19840823&id=kdgTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iwYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6981,4703933, Ocala Star-Banner, August 23, 1984. Her father Paul, an architect, had served as a

naval aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Her mother Claire had been a naval supply officer. O'Dea attended Theodore Roosevelt High School in

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

, Iowa.http://www.trhsfoundation.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=12, Theodore Roosevelt High School Hall of Fame She graduated from

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

with a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

Navy career

O'Dea joined the Naval service in 1972. In 1974 she was selected as one of the first eight women to enter military pilot training. She completed women's Officer Candidate School in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, then headed to

Naval Air Station Pensacola Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United Sta ...

, Florida, for flight training. She was designated a

Naval Aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

in April 1974, one of the first six women to earn their wings as

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

pilots. The other five women to earn their wings were

Barbara Allen Rainey Barbara Ann Allen Rainey (August 20, 1948 – July 13, 1982) was one of the first six female pilots in the U.S. armed forces. Rainey received her wings of gold as the first female to be designated a naval aviator in February 1974 and became the fi ...

Rosemary Bryant Mariner Captain (United States O-6), Captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner (née Bryant; formerly Conatser; April 2, 1953 – January 24, 2019) was an American pilot and one of the first six women to earn their wings as a United States Naval Aviator in 1974. ...

, Judith Ann Neuffer, Ana Marie Fuqua, and Joellen Drag. During her naval career, O'Dea spoke of her frustration with Congressional mandates that prevented military women from serving in combat. Because of the no-combat rules, the female pilots' opportunities for career advancement were somewhat limited. "It's very discouraging to know the best you can play on is the junior varsity team no matter how good you are," she said in a 1984 interview. JSOCapt

Retirement

O'Dea retired from the Navy with the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on April 11, 1997. She was the Navy's senior woman aviator at the time of her retirement. One of the initial group of six women to complete Navy flight training, O'Dea received her wings in April 1974. She was the first to achieve command (Navy Recruiting District, Indianapolis) and to be selected for the rank of captain. She had logged over 3,000 hours in the C-130, C-1A, T-34, and EC-130Q while assigned to VR-24, VT-2, AVT-16 (aboard USS ''Lexington)'', and VQ-4.

References

External links

The Year in Review (1997)
Naval Aviation News by William T. Baker

from the Naval Historical Center {{DEFAULTSORT:Odea, Jane Skiles 1949 births Living people 20th-century American naval officers 21st-century American women Female United States Navy officers Women United States Naval Aviators Aviators from Iowa American women flight instructors American flight instructors Theodore Roosevelt High School (Iowa) alumni People from Ames, Iowa Iowa State University alumni United States Navy captains

Early life and education

Navy career

Retirement

See also

References

Further reading

External links