In 1975, 15 women lieutenants were selected from a pool of 600 young women Air Force officers to serve as both test pilots and role models for the first class of women Air Force Academy cadets. From January to June 1976, the ATOs completed an abbreviated cadet training course led by several hundred male cadets to prepare both themselves and the Academy for the 150 women cadets arriving that summer. They changed negative attitudes and fine-tuned plans for the integration of women cadets into the cadet wing. When the incoming class arrived, 12 ATOs acted as surrogate female upperclassmen until the Class of 1980 women cadets could fill that role.
In 2023 the ATOs and the Friends of the Air Force Academy Library helped Clark Special Collections preserve and highlight their Academy experience by donating funds to the Friends to digitize the entire collection. One of the former ATOs, Virginia Procino Hartmann, generously volunteered a very significant amount of time to properly identify and label over 1700 photographs, making them available to Air Force Academy cadets and other researchers.
The project – the first of its kind – has been a major success. The McDermott Library is now proud to offer this extensive digital photograph collection and index for the Women ATO Collection. The index and photographs can be accessed using the links below.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE WOMEN AIR TRAINING OFFICERS FINDING AID AND INDEX
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION
Virginia “Ginny” Caine Tonneson was one of the first six women appointed to the United States Air Force Academy, which she attended from 1976 to 1980. More about her experience and link to her collection can be found at: https://usafa.libguides.com/spc/mms0032-cainetonneson
Oral histories for some women of the class of 1980 are also available on the McDermott Library’s website. To learn more and view the Oral History Index visit https://usafa.libguides.com/spc/oralhistory-av.
