Barbara Garwood
WMA President 1982 - 1985
Barbara (Brumme)
Garwood was born in El Paso, Texas, in 1952 to German parents who
immigrated to the United States. In the 1920's, her father came to
New York City from Germany as a young boy. He became an Army
soldier and US citizen and completed his military service with the
rank of colonel, meeting her mother in occupied Germany and bringing
her to America as a war bride.
The family moved all over the country and she and her older brother went to many schools as military dependants. She attended Willamette University in Oregon in 1970 as a piano music major, but quit after two years. She went to Germany, where her parents were now stationed, and became a waitress at Panzer Kaserne, an American Officers Club.
After almost a year, she returned to complete college at the University of Miami, Florida, and graduated cum laude as an English major in 1974. She was also a distinguished Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps graduate and the second women ever from the university to enter the Air Force.
Serving as an Information Officer at Seymour Johnson AFB, NC in 1975, her job consisted of publishing the base newspaper, community relations and writing media stories about the F-4 fighter wing. When pilot training opened to women in 1976, she put her application in for the ten quota "test program" slots available to active duty women. Competition was fierce for the 10 slots, and while there were 2000 men accepted to pilot training a year, she did not get one of the 10 slots for women.
Her second assignment took her to Ramstein AB, Germany as a Public Affairs Officer and finally, in 1979, she was chosen as an alternate to attend UPT when another woman officer turned it down. Attending Class 80-08 at Williams AFB, AZ, she graduated and became the third female T-38 Instructor Pilot in the Air Force, serving from 1980-1985 and also becoming the Chief of T-38 Academics.
In 1981, she was jogging along the canals in Phoenix and the idea of an organization of active women pilots for the purpose of fellowship, support and a forum of women pilots to exchange information about the future of women pilots in the military became a very important goal for her. She sent out surveys to all the current female pilots in the Air Force at the time, and the need for such an organization was obvious from the responses. She started forming the organization and in 1982 she was contacted by several former WASP pilots who already had a small incorporated organization, but no active duty female pilots. With the help of the WASPS, the Women Military Pilots Association was formed and Barb served as its first president from 1982-1985. The organization later evolved to become the Women Military Aviators Association.
In 1985 her last active duty assignment was at the US Air Force Academy, serving as the "Soar for All" director for all sophomore cadets to fly the TG-7A Motorglider and Schweitzer gliders. After leaving active service, she was hired by American Airlines in 1987.
From 1988-1991 she also served in the USAFR as a maintenance staff officer at Norton AFB, CA and then as a KC-135E pilot at Grissom AFB, IN. After being demobilized from serving during Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1991, she separated from the reserves in order to care for her two young children and continue to fly for American Airlines.
Her military service awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, AF Commendation Medal (1 dev), and the AF Outstanding Unit Award (1 dev) and the Southwest Asia Service Medal (Saudi Arabia). Civilian aircraft she has flown include the B-727, S-80, DC-10 and she currently is a captain on the S-80 with over 10,000 military and civilian flying hours.
Barb is married to Tracy Garwood, who actually was one of her T-38 students and who is currently a 767 First Officer for American Airlines. They have two grown children.