Meet the first all-female aircrew of the Air Force’s ‘Combat King’

For some people, making history is not about what they're doing but instead why they're doing it.

On Sept. 6, 2019, six airmen from the 347th Rescue Group completed the HC-130J Combat King II's first flight to be operated by an all-female aircrew.

While most would be excited just to make history, this crew's "why" is less about the recognition but more about representation.

"We don't want to be noticed for being women," said Senior Airmen Rachel Bissonnette, 71st Rescue Squadron (RQS) loadmaster. "Any person who meets the bar can be an aircrew member. What we want is for the girls who think they can't do it, to know that they can."

Capt. Sarah Edwards, 71st Rescue Squadron (RQS) pilot, prepares for takeoff in the cockpit of an HC-130J Combat King II at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, Sept. 6, 2019.

(US Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. Kaylin P. Hankerson)

71st Rescue Squadron (RQS) pilots prepare for takeoff in the cockpit of an HC-130J Combat King II at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, Sept. 6, 2019.

(US Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. Kaylin P. Hankerson)

Senior Airman Rachel Bissonnette, left, and Tech. Sgt. Colleen McGahuey-Ramsey, right, both 71st Rescue Squadron (RQS) loadmasters, look out the back of an HC-130J Combat King II as it flies over south Georgia, Sept. 6, 2019.

(US Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. Kaylin P. Hankerson)

Tech. Sgt. Colleen McGahuey-Ramsey, 71st Rescue Squadron (RQS) loadmaster, visually confirms the target for a loadmaster-directed rescue drop, Sept. 6, 2019.

(US Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. Kaylin P. Hankerson)

71st Rescue Squadron (RQS) loadmasters preform a loadmaster-directed pararescue-bundle drop, Sept. 6, 2019.

(US Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. Kaylin P. Hankerson)

Lomax, Edwards, Bissonnette, Weisz, McGahuey-Ramsey, and Barden after the HC-130J Combat King II's first flight with an all-female aircrew, at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, Sept. 6, 2019.

(US Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. Kaylin P. Hankerson)

The crew and leadership from the 347th Rescue Group expressed that their "why" has more to do with future than it does the past.

This article originally appeared on Business Insider. Follow @BusinessInsider on Twitter.