--- title: "Female Army aviator bringing vet voice to media" date: "2020-02-05" modified: "2020-10-21" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/female-army-aviator-bringing-vet-voice-to-media/" categories: - "Army" - "History" --- # Female Army aviator bringing vet voice to media ![]() To say that Amber Smith comes from a military family is an understatement. Her great-grandfather was in World War I, her grandfather was in World War II, and her father was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne. Both of her parents were pilots. [Both of her sisters are military pilots](). --- ![]() Her parents' love of flying sparked her interest, and she started flying private planes at a young age. As she got older she started considering a career in aviation, specifically military aviation. Then in 2003, she was introduced to a future she didn't know was possible. "I talked to the Marines, I talked to the Air Force, and I talked to the Navy because I didn't even know the Army had aviation," Smith says. "I grew up in fixed wings. Never once did the thought of helicopters cross my mind." The other three branches told her the same thing: get a college degree and then come talk. But Smith just wanted to join the military as an aviator. When she spoke to the Army they told her could still be a pilot, just flying helicopters instead of planes. Smith's experience as a civilian pilot allowed her to join before finishing her degree through the [Warrant Officer Flight Training Program](). ![]() While still in college and before joining the Army, Smith met her parents at an air show where helicopter rides were offered. She hopped in to see if a helicopter was really something she wanted. "I went on this helicopter flight and I was immediately hooked," she remembers. "I was like, 'this is for me. I love it!' I didn't even want planes anymore, give me a helicopter." After basic training and Warrant Officer Candidate School, she went to flight school where she met her bird: the OH58 Kiowa Warrior Helicopter. The Kiowa Warrior is a light attack reconnaissance helicopter; a two-seater carrying a fifty cal machine gun and 7-shot 2.75 in (70 mm) Hydra-70 rocket pods, configurable for Hellfire missiles. ![]() *An OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter from the 1st Infantry Division takes off on a mission from Forward Operation Base MacKenzie, Iraq. It is armed with an AGM-114 Hellfire and 7 Hydra 70 rockets. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Shane Cuomo)* "I loved my time flying the Kiowa," Smith recalls. "I knew that was the best and most bad ass flying I would ever do in my life." Her mission was direct support for ground forces, looking for IEDs, providing aerial security for convoys, and responding to troops in combat (TICs). Smith deployed with her unit, the 101st Airborne Division, to Iraq from 2005, where she made Pilot in Command. She went to Afghanistan in 2008, where she made Air Mission Commander, seeing combat in a combat arms role years before the ban on women in combat ended. ![]() "Before they lifted the restriction, aviation was the only branch within what was called Combat Arms – now it's maneuvers, fire, and effects – but it was the only Combat Arms branch that allowed women," Smith says. Her views on women in combat is simple: there needs to be a mission standard, not a gender standard. "As long as the standards remain the exact same as today, I think women should be given the opportunity to try it," Smith says. "I don't believe in quotas or lowering standards but I don't think it should matter if you're a man or a woman. If you can do the job and contribute to the mission that's what matters." The Army's proposed integration plan includes first adding female officers to leadership roles within combat units. Amber Smith think it's a smart move but the plan for and acceptance of women in combat jobs will take time. "Reducing the standards creates resentment," she says. "When I got to my unit in 2004, women were very rare in the Kiowa Warrior community. I worked very hard to do my job and contribute to the mission. As soon as they realized that, I was a part of the team." ![]() Smith left the military in 2010, but while she was in, she completed a Bachelor's in Professional Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. After transitioning, she earned her Master of Science in Safety, Security, and Emergency Management with a specialization in Homeland Security from Eastern Kentucky University. While in graduate school, she noticed that too often the media lacked a credible veteran's point of view. "It's important the American people need to hear the perspective of people who have been on the operational side of national security," she says. "People who have been to war and have seen the enemy everyone talks about on TV every day." Smith started a blog and got published wherever she could. Within three months, the calls for television appearances started. Her career just took off from there. She just completed her first book, *Danger Close: One's Woman's Epic Journey as a Combat Helicopter Pilot in Iraq and Afghanistan.* "2015 was the year of my book," Smith says. "I wrote it myself, I didn't have a ghostwriter or anything. I wanted to preserve my voice. The Kiowa Warrior is an incredibly effective tool on the battlefield, essential in the two theaters of war. Nobody knows about it, all anybody knows about is the Apache. So I want people to know who we are and what we did." Smith is now a Senior Fellow at the [Independent Women's Forum]() and Senior Military Advisor for [Concerned Veterans for America](). She is also a writer and television commentator on national security issues, foreign policy, and military operations. She regularly appears on Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, and MSNBC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYqoiaDUHlA Her book is due out in September and is [available for preorder on Amazon](). Follow [Amber Smith on Twitter]() ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()