Sisters in service pilot the skies over Afghanistan

Published July 28, 2008
By Staff Sgt. Rachel 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.

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 couple of cousins.

"Just growing up around it so much, I think we all loved airplanes," Kelly 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. Kelly studied English and journalism at the University of Arizona and Amber became a cheerleader at the University of Washington.

"I think each one of us at one point started to rebel," said Kelly. "I know I did. I said I wasn't going to be a pilot."

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

"It looked interesting and at that point I decided I didn't want a desk job," she said. "So, I started flying my dad's little Cessna 150 when I was home the summer after my freshman year. After I soloed was when I decided this is really fun."

Kelly transferred to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and became a flight instructor after graduating.

Amber turned to aviation after two years of college.

"It came to a point where I had to declare my major and I didn't really know what I wanted to do," Amber explained. "Flying had always interested me so I went and got my private pilot's license in a fixed wing."

Their father had encouraged them to look into the military for flying opportunities. Kelly jumped first, enlisting in the California Air National Guard shortly after the terrorist attacks Sept. 11.

"(Sept. 11) hit me pretty hard because I had been planning on going to the airlines and interviewing that December," she said. "I'll never forget looking up with all my friends and seeing all our flights cancelled. It was almost like seeing my career go up in smoke."

After graduating from Air Force Basic Military Training, Kelly was selected for the pilot board and became a C-130 pilot for the 146th Airlift Wing in Channel Islands, Calif.

"I always liked the C-130s," she said. "I happened to meet this girl whose father is one of the colonels in our unit. He introduced me to everyone in the unit and I got to see all the planes. I thought it was really cool - I decided that was what I wanted to do. I had discovered something that I was really excited in."

In 2003, knowing that she wanted to fly, Amber enlisted with the Army, the only service to guarantee her a flying slot. She chose her airframe, the OH-59 Kiowa Warrior, almost by chance.

"I think you should pick an aircraft based on the mission, but I didn't really know much about any of the missions," she said. "I actually liked flying the TS-57 (in Army flight school) and thought helicopter would be similar - little did I know. I ended up getting Kiowa which was probably the best thing could have ever happened to me. I'm really glad I got it - it has an awesome mission."

Fully qualified on the Kiowa, Amber was stationed with the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Ky. In late 2007, her unit deployed to Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Not long after deploying, Amber began to receive e-mails from Kelly - her unit would be deploying to Bagram. They would be in different services, different locations, assigned to different units, but they found a commonality in their mission in Afghanistan - aiding troops on the ground.

"We have two completely different missions, but we both take care of the ground troops," said Kelly. "The C-130s do a lot of airdrop and it's fulfilling because you are getting the beans and bullets to the guys on the ground."

"I love (the Kiowa) mission because we work in direct support of the ground units," Amber explained. "It's awesome to help them because they are the ones with boots on the ground."

Although not at the same base, the two sisters got the opportunity to see each other in May when Amber's commander allowed her to fly to Bagram for a two-day visit.

"I loved the day that Amber came to visit," Kelly said. "She came and got me up in the morning, we walked to the BX, we got coffee, we got pizza, and we got massages. When you're back home you can have girls' day - it was kind of like that, but Bagram style."

Kelly also got the chance to see Amber when she would fly C-130s down to Jalalabad. Their favorite moment came out of one of these trips.

"We were taking off out of Jalalabad and Amber was on approach and we heard each other on the tower radio," Kelly recalled with enthusiasm. "That was the coolest thing."

"I thought, how often in our lives is that ever going to happen - in combat," Amber said.
Fellow pilots soon heard about the sisters.

"Everybody I work with knew my sister was here so whenever they would hear a female voice on the radio they would tell me that they heard my sister on the radio," Amber said.

"Me too," added Kelly. "Whenever guys in our unit would fly down to Jalalabad and hear a women on the radio they would tell me they heard my sister. I have to tell them that there are other female pilots out there - we aren't the only ones."

Good news came for the two when Amber's unit relocated to Bagram. Although Kelly redeployed back to California in mid-July, the sisters were given a few weeks to spend together.

"The past two weeks that I've been here we have probably seen each other more than we have in the past five years," explained Amber. "We are hardly ever all together - it seems like somebody is always gone."

They took advantage of the opportunity to see each other as much as they could. They made it a point to have dinner together, sent text messages on their Afghan cell phones and sometimes ran together in the morning.

"I hate working out in the morning, and I hate getting up in the morning, so I was doing it just to hang out with her," said Kelly. "Even if we didn't talk, it was cool just to be together."

Kelly and Amber have deployed twice each now and both agree it is easier being deployed together. Amber went to Iraq in 2005 and Kelly to Southwest Asia shortly after.

"Here, we are both pilots and have the same type of intel," explained Kelly. "It was harder for me being home when she was in Iraq because I didn't know what was going on. I had never been deployed, and that's scary. I can see why family and friends worry because they don't hear about stuff."

As the older sister, Kelly, 31, added that she doesn't worry about Amber, 26, too much.

"Here, I get worried, but Amber is a really, really good pilot - you can just tell she is," said the proud older sister. "There is always that lingering fear - when things happen and I haven't heard from her. But it's not like I'm constantly worrying. I think I would be even more worried if I was stuck at home without a clue as to what was going on."

Despite the fact there have been a few days the sisters have not been able to see each other or talk to each other because of work, they both agree having each other here makes it easier.

"Just knowing that you have that other person who is here for you - not just a friend, but family is really nice," Kelly said.

It may be easier on them, but it's not easier on their parents.

"I think they are handling this deployment better than the last one," said Amber. "Last time, none of us had deployed before, so it was like their first deployment too. They are doing better with it, but they'll be excited when we are all home. They always say, 'Be safe and we can't wait to see you,' but they are very supportive about it and very practical."

"We are very, very fortunate because our mom realized from the get-go that it would be harder on us to know that they are worrying about us all the time," added Kelly. "So she does a good job of reeling my dad in when he would start whining about how worried he was. That would make it harder on Amber, for example, when she's not only worried about whatever her job is but she's worried about making sure mom and dad are ok."

Kelly and Amber aren't the only ones their parents worry about. Younger sister Lacey, 25, is an Army Chief Warrant Officer and flies the UH-60 Black Hawk. Her unit, A Company, 101st Aviation, replaces Amber's unit this winter.

Amber expects a few weeks of overlap with Lacey, just as she has with Kelly. This will be Lacey's first deployment.

"Amber and Kelly have given me great info about what all the different places are like," Lacey said. "I am really looking forward to our upcoming deployment."

Like her sisters, Lacey looks forward to supporting the troops on the ground - and the flying.

"I chose Black Hawks because of their mission diversity," she said. "I'm not one for shooting things up, but love to have guys like Amber buzzing around us. Plus I love being able to meet and help soldiers."