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Reservist with career of firsts enters hall of fame

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Dustin Doyle
  • Air Force Reserve Command Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Induction into a hall of fame usually represents the pinnacle of a chosen field, an emphatic period in the sentence describing a person’s long, auspicious career.

For those inducted into a hall of fame, the honor is often a point of great personal pride.

But talk to retired Maj. Gen. Betty Mullis – the first woman to command an Air Force flying wing, the first rated woman in the Air Force to become a general and a recent addition to the Women in Aviation, International Pioneer Hall of Fame – and she will claim to be the “recipient of some accolades that other people deserve.”

WAI inducted General Mullis into its hall of fame March 25 during its annual conference in Nashville, Tenn.

“I still can’t believe it,” said the general. “There are so many women out there who have done so many wonderful things and opened so many doors for the rest of us that I’m absolutely flabbergasted that I was even being considered to be in that group.”

During her 33-year career, General Mullis spent time in all three components of the Air Force – regular Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command. She
retired from the Air Force Reserve in September 2005.

When asked how it felt to be inducted into the hall of fame, General Mullis gave all the credit to the people she has worked with in years past.

“I see this award as being for the Air Force and the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard. I don’t see this award as being for me,” she said. “I see this as an acknowledgement for the opportunities I was given for wearing the blue uniform.”

General Mullis started her Air Force career in 1972, when women were not allowed to fly in the military. Four years later the Air Force allowed the first women into pilot training. In 1977 General Mullis – working as an administrative/public affairs officer – transferred to the Arkansas Air National Guard to pursue her dream of flying.

She applied for the coveted class slots at every chance possible. Her dream was finally realized when she was selected for pilot training in January 1979.

In 1980, she became only the third woman in ANG history to earn her wings and the first woman fixed-wing pilot in the Arkansas ANG.

As General Mullis forged ahead in her career– a true pioneer in women’s aviation – her pool of accomplishments deepened.

She flew her first operational missions in the KC-135 – the “first date” and “love of [her] life” – for the 154th Air Refueling Squadron at Little Rock AFB, Ark. When the unit transitioned to the C-130, she became one of the first women in the Air Force to fly the aircraft in an airlift role.

In 1988, General Mullis returned to the KC-135 in the Air Force Reserve’s 336th ARS at March AFB, Calif. Within a year, she had become a chief pilot – a first for women in the Reserve.

In 1991, General Mullis was among the first group of women pilots to be awarded an Air Medal since World War II for her critical contributions to air refueling operations during Operation Desert Storm.

The “firsts” continued in 1993 when General Mullis became the first woman in the Air Force Reserve to command a flying squadron. Two years later she became the first woman to serve as vice commander of a Reserve wing.

In 1996, General Mullis reached the “pinnacle of her flying career” when it was announced that she would became the first woman in the entire Air Force to command a flying wing - the 940th Air Refueling Wing, McClellan AFB, Calif.

While this announcement prompted a lot of talk around the Air Force, General Mullis vividly recalls a request made by one of her people.

“One of my maintenance supervisors came up to me and said, ‘Ma’am you have to tell people to quit saying you’re the first because we know who you are, and what you are, and we don’t want people to think you’re our commander just because of a record.’ And I thought wow, that’s probably the best compliment I ever received.”

General Mullis continued her career of firsts by becoming the first rated woman to be promoted to both brigadier general and to major general.

“I don’t look back at [my career] as things I’ve done. I look back on it as things ‘we’ve’ done,” said General Mullis. “I don’t think I’ve done anything. I happen to be the recipient of some accolades that other people deserve.” (AFRC News Service)