Paula Gould -- general's wife, pilot's life Published Feb. 7, 2008 By Susan Griggs 81st Training Wing Public Affairs KEESLER AFB, MISS -- Paula Gould, the wind beneath her husband's wings, also has wings of her own. Most people at Keesler know her as the spouse of 2nd Air Force's commander, Maj. Gen. Mike Gould, but in addition to her roles as wife and mother, she's a pilot who recently retired from the Air Force Reserve as a colonel after 30 years of service. Jan. 28, Paula was the first female pilot invited to speak to Keesler's Order of Daedalians, a national fraternal organization of military pilots, according to Dean Todd, who organized the group in 1973. Flying is family affair Paula's dad, Charlie Houk, was an Army Air Corps pilot during World War II who went on to be a commercial pilot with United Airlines. Her father-in-law, Carl Gould, was also a World War II pilot and retired Air Force officer. A 1975 graduate of the University of Colorado, she earned a degree in mathematics and became a teacher. "I loved the kids, but I learned that teaching wasn't for me. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, so I went to work at a restaurant," Paula said. "One day my brother Dave, a C-130 pilot for the Wyoming Air National Guard, came home and said the Guard had opened up pilot training for women and told me I should apply," she continued. "I talked it over with my parents, and they supported my desire to become a pilot." Word whiz To pass the time while she sunbathed, she studied vocabulary cards. That pastime came in handy when she took the officer qualifying test and made a nearly perfect score on the vocabulary section of the test and a high score in mathematics -- she was about average on the flying part. The National Guard unit at Rickenbacker Air Force Base, Ohio, sponsored her for a national pilot training slot. Three women were interviewed, and Paula was selected as the alternate. While she awaited her slot for the next year, her dad gave her flying lessons and she got her private pilot's license. Top teacher "He was my best instructor ever, and I was proud to be his student," she commented. In 1976, Paula was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air National Guard through the Academy of Military Science, Knoxville, Tenn. "My critique on the day before graduation said, 'You've done a pretty good job, but there are three things you need to consider -- you smile too much, you're too friendly and you wear too much makeup,'" she recalled. "I could live with those three and haven't changed any of them." She was stationed at Buckley AFB, Colo., as an intelligence officer while awaiting pilot training. In 1977, she went through initial flight screening. "I entered undergraduate pilot training in the T-37 at Williams AFB, Ariz. in 1978, as part of the third class with female pilots. I did well in my academics and I didn't have any great concerns about flying -- I was really looking forward to getting in the air. Battling bias "My first day of training, my flight instructor had three students," she continued. "He asked the first guy what his goal was for pilot training, and he replied that he wanted to be a commercial pilot someday. He asked the second guy, who said, 'I just have to fly fighters,' and the instructor said, 'You'll get it.' "He turned to me and said, 'I really don't care what you want to do -- I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you don't finish the program.'" The instructor kept that promise, doing unanticipated rolls and various negative 'G' maneuvers so she'd hit her head on the canopy. She started having nightmares that she didn't share with anyone. He gave her "hooks," or unsatisfactory scores. After a certain number of hooks, a student was sent to fly with other instructors. "Then I would get 'good' or 'satisfactory' ratings, but when I went back to my instructor, I got hooks again," Paula commented. "This continued until I came up for my first check ride. When I was finished, I got a 'good.'" When her flight commander heard about her performance, he called her into his office to ask what was going on, and she finally shared how she'd been treated by her instructor. "He asked, 'Why didn't you tell us?', and I replied, 'Being one of the only women here, would you have said you were having problems with your flight instructor?' After that, I was assigned a new flight instructor, who was great -- he didn't have any biases and just wanted people to learn to fly. My T-38 instructors were great, too. I respected them and they respected me for my flying abilities." During this time, she met a handsome instructor named Mike Gould, who she describes as her best friend, mentor and dream encourager. They've been happily married nearly 28 years. "I learned it was against the rules for a student to date an instructor, but it was OK to marry him," she said with a grin. Following combat crew training school in the KC-135 at Castle AFB, Calif., Paula was assigned to Rickenbacker AFB, Ohio, where she was a mission-ready KC-135 co-pilot flying for the Ohio Air National Guard. In 1980, she was assigned to the 161st Air Refueling Wing, Sky Harbor International Airport, Ariz., as the unit's second female pilot alongside the first, Marilyn Koon. She served as a co-pilot for the Arizona Air National Guard Copperheads, including duty with the European Tanker Task Force at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, United Kingdom. Back in Colorado The next year, Paula followed her husband to Colorado Springs, where he was assigned to his alma mater, the Air Force Academy, as a T-41 instructor pilot and golf and football coach. "I wanted to get a Reserve job back at Buckley where they had T-43s to support the academy's navigator training mission," she said. She visited her old unit and had an interview with the commander, who graciously invited her to come in and asked her a lot of questions, seemingly very interested. Losing his cool "After about 20 minutes, he stood up, pounded his fist on the desk and said, 'Women should not be in the Air Force. They definitely shouldn't be pilots. I would never hire a woman -- get out of my office right now!' It wasn't obvious from her physical appearance, but Paula was pregnant at the time. She knew she had recourse for the commander's behavior, but she and her husband decided to wait until after their baby arrived to decide what path she should follow. "I loved being in the military and I wanted to serve, but the doors to flying seemed to be closed," Paula said. Her husband advised her to put on her uniform, walk the halls of the Air Force Academy and see what happened. Soon she had an assignment with the 9001st Air Reserve Squadron at the academy, where she went to work as an admissions liaison officer for the academy and ROTC admissions programs. New mom, new focus The birth of their first son was a turning point in her life. "I had to be true to myself, and when I first held that little baby in my arms, I knew I never wanted to leave him -- that made up my mind." The Goulds' two sons, Bart and Brandon, are academy graduates. Bart was recently selected for promotion to captain. He and his wife, Rozi, another academy graduate, are stationed at Schriever AFB, Colo. Brandon is a second lieutenant at Vance AFB, Okla. Family philosophy "Our family shares the same priorities, putting God first, family second and our jobs third," Paula emphasized. For the remainder of her career, she worked as an admissions liaison officer in nine states and England, where she was credited with bringing hundreds of young men and women into officer commissioning programs. She was the deputy director of all assigned admissions liaison officers in four states and was elevated to Oklahoma's state director from 1997-1999. "I'm proud of the young people who are coming up behind us who want to make their dreams come true," Paula observed. "I've spoken to hundreds of young people about becoming a pilot or pursuing any career they wanted in the Air Force. "It's a great way of life with a lot of opportunities -- equal opportunities," she concluded. "I feel like I opened the door for many of them, and I had a heck of a lot of fun doing it."