First Women Air Force Pilots, 1977

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10 female officers are the first to enter the US Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training program, graduating in a ceremony at Williams Air Force Base on September 2, 1977

Williams Field was built on land 8 miles east of Chandler and opened in late 1941. During World War II the Army Air Corps trained more than 10,000 pilots and thousands of bombardiers at the facility.

In the post-World War II era Willie, as it was affectionately nicknamed, went through numerous changes. After the Air Force was created in 1947, it was renamed Williams Air Force Base, and in 1949 it became a jet pilot training facility.

In 1975, then Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David C. Jones announced a new program which would allow women to enter pilot training. Ten women completed the training, and graduated in a ceremony at Willie in 1977. The women were: Kathleen A. Cosand, Victoria K. Crawford, Mary E. Donahue, Connie J. Engel, Kathy LaSauce, Mary M. Livingston, Susan D. Rogers, Carol A. Scherer, Christine E. Schott, and Sandra M. Scott.

One year after graduation, Captain Engle became the first female flight instructor at Willie.