CAPT JoEllen Drag-Oslund: Female Naval Aviator and Trailblazer

CAPT JoEllen Drag-Oslund: Female Naval Aviator and Trailblazer “It’s because of her that we are here”

By LT Audrey “Pam” Petersen, USN

The year 2023 marks a significant milestone in Navy history and in naval aviation – 50 years of women flying in the Navy. In March 1973, the first group of women began U.S. Navy flight training in Pensacola. The following year, the group would become known as “The First Six.” LCDR Barbara Allen Rainey, CAPT Rosemary Bryant Mariner, USN (Ret.) CAPT Jane Skiles O’Dea, USN (Ret.), CAPT JoEllen DragOslund, USN (Ret.), CAPT Judith Neuffer, USN (Ret.) and CAPT Ana Marie Scott, USN (Ret.) were those first female aviators.

Training Air Wing Five at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Fla., conducted a ceremony on October 21, 2023 to wing 33 newly designated Naval Helicopter Pilots. The guest speaker, CAPT JoEllen Drag-Oslund, USNR (Ret.), was in the same shoes as the men and women receiving their wings of gold back in 1974, when she received her wings. Oslund made history as the fourth female Naval Aviator to complete flight training and the first female to earn wings of gold as a helicopter pilot as designator R-12906.5. She went on to fly H-46 and H-3 helicopters in the Fleet.

As a senior in college, Oslund struggled to figure out what she wanted to do when she graduated. Her boyfriend at the time handed her a piece of paper and said, “I think you should go for this.” That piece of paper was a message released by Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, then Chief of Naval Operations, one of a series of directives called Z-grams that were released during his tenure. Z-gram #116 changed the military’s structure by affording equal rights and opportunities to women who served.

The previously-restricted aviation pipeline was now open to women as a result of that Z-gram. After a few short-lived moments of self-doubt and a few more persuasive “you should go for this” from her friend, Oslund set her sights on Naval flight training. She graduated from college in 1972 and walked into the local recruiting office. She was nearly laughed out of the room when she handed them the Z-gram and requested to apply to flight school. The recruiting office had not caught wind of the message traffic yet and didn’t believe it was real. A few days later, she walked back in and tried again and was accepted. She shipped off to Newport, Rhode Island, as part of the last gender-segregated Officer Candidate School (WOS - Women’s Officer School) alongside five other women who had been accepted as part of this pioneer program.

Oslund, her husband, Captain Dwayne Oslund, USN (Ret.), and their friend, Captain Tom Pruter, USN (Ret.) joined aviators from NAS Whiting Field for events prior to the winging. They were welcomed on base by the stick display of all four of her trainer aircraft: the T-34, T-28, TH-57, and UH-1D.

Oslund put her more than 1,500 hours of flight time to the test, flying patterns at NOLF Imperial Beach and buzzing the tower of the aircraft carrier in the simulator for the Navy’s newest advanced helicopter trainer, the TH-73A Thrasher.

After a tour of the temporary hangar and a closer look at the TH-73A, Oslund met with nearly 40 aviators for a meet and greet at the monthly Female Aviator Network (FAN). The FAN aims to expand awareness about common challenges women face in the military through small group discussions, guest speakers, and resource sharing. Attendees ranged from Ensigns just checking in from initial flight school, NIFE, to lieutenant commanders on their second instructor tour.

CAPT JoEllen Drag-Oslund meets with members of TRAWING 5's Female Aviator Network (FAN). U.S. Navy Photo.

Oslund quickly established commonalities with the younger ranks in the room, telling the story about how she forgot to raise the landing gear and close the canopy on her very first T-34 aircraft training event. She continued to tell some of her experiences in the T-28 aircraft, and about how the Navy had seemingly predetermined where the starting six women were going to go for their Fleet aircraft.