Catherine Nelson is a Pilot in the United States Air Force holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Growing up in College Station, Texas, Catherine adopted an early love of flight and her desire to soar among the clouds simply never stopped. A family friend operated a hot air balloon and Catherine remembers being awestruck by their weightless appearance as the flames pushed them higher and higher.
Catherine got her first real taste of air time during the summer after her 7th grade year when her dad saw an ad in the local paper for a company giving free bi-plane rides. She luckily caught the last slot before the show left town and holds this memory dear as one of the moments that solidified her desire to fly and make a career of these early sensations.
With parents who preached the importance of self-solution and “making your own way” Catherine knew she would need to carve her own path if her dream career was ever going to become a reality. She found this path through the ROTC program at the University of Oklahoma, which kicked off her incredible career with the United States Air Force.
From flying to Timbuktu, in southwestern Mali…yes the real Timbuktu…to landing on dirt strips in the jungles of Liberia and navigating the Hamlet of Arctic Bay in Nunavut Canada… Catherine has traversed the world.
Now as she enters the final portion of her 20 year tenure the sky is the limit for what is to come.
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