The first flight was very scary.

My instructor was like 'All right you got the controls."

And I'm like "Me?!"

I never thought flying was an option let alone being a pilot.

Flying wasn't a thing in New Mexico... so up here everybody flies.

I love being at the controls, I love talking on the radios even though I tell ATC (Air Traffic Control) on the ground to have a good flight also.

So I enlisted out of high school in 2013.

So Loadmaster is in the back of the cargo airplane.

We handle all the cargo loading in the back we handle emergency procedures, we're the ones who get to walk around and handle anything that needs to be handled, like it is the coolest job.

It's the best job in the Air Force.

As a Loadmaster on the C-130 here we're Search and Rescue, so we're air dropping to survivors, we're picking medevac up, we're refilling the helicopters, and we're all in the back of the airplane seeing it all, doing it all, hands-on.

Alaska is the biggest Search and Rescue, like we hold 24/7 alert.

There's not a lot of roads, so to get into these places the only way is to fly or by boat and flying is so much faster.

So if somebody's hurt and they don't have hospitals, they don't have health care out there, to get them to a bigger city... slightly bigger that has a hospital, you need an aircraft.

That's the whole reason why I chose Loadmaster.

I had a buddy who he's from Alaska and he was like 'well do you have your GI Bill?'

And I was like, 'Yeah."

Like I always knew that I wanted my degree.

And he was like, 'Well if you have your GI Bill, it'll pay for your flying at UAA.

They have a pilot program."

and I was like 'What?!"

You'll get your private license, you'll get your instrument rating and your commercial license and I was like, 'Yes!'

It's a degree program, so my degree is in aviation technology with an emphasis in professional piloting.

So then I was like cool I could be a civilian pilot, like that's awesome and then I'm like well I'm getting my degree anyways and like I can maybe try to be a pilot with the Guard!

So that's kind of my next step.

I mean Loadmaster will always have part of my heart, obviously it's where I started.

So yeah I'll definitely feel sad about it, but my fiance is a Loadmaster also so he'll always kind of be there.

When my nephew asks me what would your superpower be, I'm like 'Oh I'd want to fly' and then I'm like 'I am flying!"

It definitely feels like surreal especially just looking down and being in the air flying and you see beautiful Alaska.

You fly, you don't fly too close to the mountains, but you fly near the mountains and you see like you can be at level with them and it's just like awesome.