Tanker pilots thankful for past female aviators who paved the way Published April 30, 2013 By Master Sgt. Jennifer Buzanowski 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- Four aircrew members, taking different roads to become KC-135 Stratotanker pilots, shared their varied experiences with the Fairchild historian - but each had one thing in common: a 'thank you' to the women who came before them. "Both of my parents grew up in other countries so I did a lot of traveling and flying on airplanes when I was younger which made a big impression on me," said Maj. Menola Guthrie, member of the 92nd Operations Group and University of Kansas graduate. If it wasn't growing up flying for some, it was moving for others. "My dad was in the Army so I grew up around the military my whole life. For not having a traditional home, it was home to be on installations, bases or posts," said Capt. Stephanie Blech, 92nd Air Refueling Wing member and Air Force Academy graduate. Blech's Academy sponsor, a female C-141 pilot, got her interested in flying with all the cool stories of the places they went and the things they saw. A sibling inspired flying for Capt. Dorothy Ellis, 92nd Air Refueling Squadron member and Air Force Academy graduate. "My brother had always wanted to be a pilot, but I was the one who ended up flying," said Ellis, whose mentors include mil-to-mil couples. "I have always wanted to fly the tanker. In this community, I don't feel like I get looked at like a female pilot." Louisiana State University graduate, Capt. Alex Trana, 92nd ARS, knew she wanted to fly before graduating college. "I always wanted to be in the military. It was my junior year in college when I learned about the opportunity to fly and went for it." When discussing airframes, Guthrie shared that being a tanker pilot meant the life style was better, to include being able to fly through her second trimester. "If you fly a fighter you can't fly when you're pregnant. I was able to complete my checkride and keep my flight currency. I really tested the limits of the seatbelt in the KC-135 along with the reflective belt." Balance, Guthrie says, is difficult. "You can't do it all. My husband is at home right now with the baby and for him that's a huge sacrifice, but he's willing to do it for me." On one deployment, for the first time in her eight-year career, Blech flew with an all-female crew. To her it wasn't a big deal. "It was a lot of fun, but I couldn't believe how excited other people were. A female C-17 crew member stopped us and said 'we want a female crew.'" At a morning weather brief, the female weather officer, took their picture. The aircrew crew chief would even greet her crew as the "Angels." "When we landed we were always asked 'what did you break,'" said Trana. Ellis's first combat mission at Manas as an aircraft commander was eventful. Fog created issues just getting to the runway. After take-off, over the mountains between Kyrgyzstan and Aghanistan, the crew lost all of their navigational systems. Using her recent training, Ellis led her crew to a safe landing. Ellis said she felt rushed to upgrade before her deployment, "but it was good to know the training was what it needed to be. There was that one day that was stressful, but I never felt like we couldn't get through it." This running joke wasn't funny to think about after a mission when something unusual happened. "We were struck by lightning." Trana described how the crew gasped when they realized what happened, then after a few seconds of silence knew everything was fine. "Our actual planes have seen so much," said Blech who drives a 16-year-old car. She told of an intelligence briefing at a deployed location where they put an old Vietnam-era photo of a KC-135 in the briefing as a joke to the age of the tanker. On second look, "it was OUR tail number." Flying these historic tankers may not be an average day job, but "I don't know anything different," said Trana. When asked if they we dreaming of bigger and better things for the future: "I haven't slowed down yet to think about it," said Ellis. For the Fairchild historian, Jim O'Connell, a former KC-135 pilot, the interview was especially meaningful. "I'm proud our Air Force sees these young women as Airmen and pilots first," O'Connell said. "It's a true testament to the Airmen and aviators who came before them."