I was so stoked. When those assignments came out, based on my performance, I was assigned to fly the F-14 Tomcat,” - Carey Lohrenz

I faced a lot of up and downs. But, I started my career in the cockpit and I ended my career in the cockpit. I wouldn't have it any other way,

I wanted to fly fighters because those pilots were the cream of the crop,” she says. “I thought to myself, Well, it takes about two years to get through this program. So maybe by the time I’m done, they will have lifted the law.”

When you hear these little comments, whether it's about your fingernail polish or your hair or what you're wearing at the time, it can feel like the slow drop of Chinese water torture, Lohrenz recalls. When you're there to fly this magnificent fighter jet, it chips away at you.