Freedom Fighter Babes of August 08

Army Chief Warrant Officer Amber Smith (left) and Air Force Capt. Kelly Smith (right) celebrate at a graduation for their younger sister, Army Chief Warrant Officer Lacey Smith (center). All three Smith sisters are pilots in the armed forces.

Families ‘tied’ by War: Sisters Pilot Afghan Skies
By Air Force Staff Sgt. Rachel M. Martinez

455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan

They never planned on being pilots and Afghanistan was the last place they expected to see each other, but that’s just what happened for two sisters from White Salmon, Wash.

Air Force Capt. Kelly Smith and Army Chief Warrant Officer Amber Smith grew up in a family rich with aviation ties. Their grandfather flew in the Army Air Corps as a lieutenant colonel during World War II and a commercial pilot after that. Their grandmother and mother were flight attendants. Multiple others in the family became commercial pilots, including their father, uncle and a few cousins.

“Just growing up around it so much, I think we all loved airplanes,” Capt. Smith said. “We loved being around airplanes, going up in airplanes, hearing about them.”

However, both went off to college with no intention of going into aviation. Capt. Smith studied English and journalism at the University of Arizona and Chief Smith became a cheerleader at the University of Washington.

“I think each of us, at one point, started to rebel,” said Capt. Smith. “I know I did. I said I wasn’t going to be a pilot.”

That quickly changed. During her freshman year, Capt. Smith began to notice the A-10s and C-130s flying into Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.

h/t: http://www.theodoresworld.net/