Comments for Family Ties @ War

Family Ties @ War

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 06:50:29 -0600

Last Sunday, I mentioned the Brunsons (and, as promised, more on them later) . Today - meet the Smith sisters. Families ‘tied’ by war: Sisters pilot Afghan skies (Part 1 of 2-part series) By Air Force Staff Sgt. Rachel M. Martinez 455th AEW Public Affairs BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (July 27, 2008) —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,” Captain Smith said. “We loved being around airplanes, going up in airplanes, hearing about them.”

Comment from Chuck Simmins on 2008-07-30

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:49:50 -0600

Sorry, Brutus, but the Israelis may hold that title. Our unis are just too staid and demure.

Comment from Brutus on 2008-07-29

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:05:37 -0600

We should not be showing pictures of these women. Other countries will beg us to invade them. :) We have not only the finest military but also the best looking.

Comment from AFSister on 2008-07-29

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:27:03 -0600

Well, Tori was the only female in her unit. She said the past 18 months has been "playing in the boy's club", and she's looking forward to ending her 30 day leave with a girls-only weekend. So, no, there aren't just a couple of female pilots, but there are extremely few compared to the men.

Comment from 509th Bob on 2008-07-29

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:25:04 -0600

As a former Airborne Infantry enlisted man ...

I VOTE for the helo-babes! Save me Valkyrie-babes! I will slavishly devote my erotic desires to you (my wife of 30 years will have certain objections!).

Seriously, congratulations to all of them. Let each and every one of them (like everyone in theatre) come home safe.

Comment from Ymarsakar on 2008-07-29

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:20:04 -0600

So, what they are saying is that even the male pilots have no idea how many women are actually serving?

Well, what do you expect from stunned men?

Comment from kat-missouri on 2008-07-29

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:06:43 -0600

I have to tell them that there are other female pilots out there – we aren’t the only ones.”

Wow! So, what they are saying is that even the male pilots have no idea how many women are actually serving? That's pretty funny.

Stealth integration.

Comment from AFSister on 2008-07-29

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:01:35 -0600

That's damn cool.

My cousin, Tori, was in Iraq for 18 months as a Blackhawk pilot. She got back last week, safe and sound. It's been a very long year and a half!