Linda Maloney, one of the first women in U.S. history to join a combat military flying squadron, is a retired military aviator and officer and a recipient of numerous military awards, including the distinguished air medal for combat, awarded for flights flown over Southern Iraq in support of the no-fly zone during her deployment to the Arabian Gulf.

Ms. Maloney entered the Navy in 1979 and completed the Broadened Opportunity for Officer Selection and Training (BOOST) Program in 1982. She attended the University of Idaho on an NROTC scholarship and subsequently earned a Bachelor of Science in computer science and a commission in the Navy in 1986. She entered flight school in July 1987 and was designated a Naval Flight Officer (NFO) in October 1988. Upon repeal of the combat exclusion law, she transferred to a combat EA-6B fleet squadron—VAQ-135—in November 1993. Following her flying tours, Ms. Maloney transitioned to the Aerospace Engineering and Acquisition community and completed her 20 year military career in 2004.

Ms. Maloney has the requisite “been there, done that” military and aviator experience, along with being a mom. The women participating in My Mom Flies worked exclusively with Ms. Maloney and trusted her implicitly to share their stories, because she is one of them. She understands the love of country, the required personal sacrifice, the love a mom has for her child, and the juggling of life’s priorities. Her legacy will be her driving passion to share the stories and photographs of these women warrior moms.

Her affiliations include Girls with Wings (www.girlswithwings.com), Women Military Aviators (www.womenmilitaryaviators.org), Women in Aviation International (http://www.wai.org/), Academy Women Organization (www.academywomen.org), Military Writers Society of America (http://militarywriters.com) and Military Officers Association of America (http://www.moaa.org/), among others.

Ms. Maloney is a motivational speaker actively involved in several mentoring programs in which she encourages young people, especially young women, to reach beyond the boundless ceiling of success. In addition to authoring, compiling, and editing My Mom Flies over the past five years, and publishing articles, speaking, and maintaining a Web site and blog to connect with and inspire her core audience, Ms. Maloney works as a government contractor on a major military base in Maryland, where she lives with her husband, Dan, and two young sons.