9/11 influences hometown girl’s aviation journey

Caitlin was in the 7th grade at Olney Junior High, at home that day from school due to an illnesswhen she saw one of the most terrorizing things you will ever see, the 9/11 attacks. “We watched the coverage all day, from the falling towers, the Pentagon being hit, and then the other plane crashing that was en route to Washington D.C.,”Caitlin said. “I always felt like I needed to serve from that point on, but I didn’t really know route what I wanted to take,” she added. Fast forwarding to 2013, Caitlin became friends with a few pilots from Sheppard AFB and learned much about becoming an officer in the Air Force. She was encouraged by one of them to take flight lessons in Midland where she was currently living…and after the first flight, she knew instantly that was how she wanted to serve in the military.

Caitlin Craig graduated from Olney High School in 2007. She later graduated from Texas A&M University in 2012 with a B.S. in Geology. After her bachelor’s, she decided to further her education by attending The University of Texas—Permian Basin, receiving her Masters in Geology. Caitlin is currently working as a Geologist in Midland, Tx for SM Energy Co.

She started taking initial flight lessons in Aug. of 2013, receiving her Private Pilot certificate in Mar.of 2014 and later receiving an Instrument Rating in Mar. 2015. In April of 2014, she decided to take the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test…you must take this test and score well enough to be able to compete against other applicants to be selected to attend Officer Training School. In Jan. of 2015, Caitlin took the Test of Basic Aviation Skills…a computerized psychomotor, spatial ability, and mutli-tasking exam that will take approximately an hour and fifteen minutes to complete. This is a required test if you want to apply for an aviation position.

In Mar. of 2015, she started

applying for Air National Guard units around the nation for pilot slots. She interviewed at the

Air National Guard in Oregon,

Minnesota, Maryland, and ended up being hired in October at the New Jersey Air National Guard. After almost two years due to a near disqualification, Caitlin was sworn into the Minnesota Air National Guard on July 17, 2017 and at this point considered to be officially part of the military. She later attended Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, AL from Mar. 2018- May 2018. She was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant because you must be an officer first in order to be a pilot. Later on she attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Columbus Air Force Base in Columbus, MS from July 2018- Aug. 2019….having to go through the three phases of training—T-6 Texan II academics and physiology, T-6 Texan II flight line, and T-1 Jayhawk academics and flight line, respectively. Upon graduation, Caitlin earned her wings and became an official pilot in the Air Force. Pilots make up only 3.8% of the Air Force, and only 6% of those pilots are women.  The next phase of training will continue in February 2020 at Little Rock Air Force Base in Little Rock, Arkansas to learn how to fly the C-130H Hercules. After training is completed, she will be stationed permanently in Minneapolis, MN with the Air Force Reserve flying the C-130H Hercules.