(JTA) – A 21-year-old from Boston is the first female American Israeli Air Force pilot.

Lt. O, whose father was a longtime IAF veteran, was among 39 candidates in a class of 500 to make the grade. She was also one of only two female pilots to complete the grueling three-year course. (Israel’s military censors will not allow her last name to be published.) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin were on hand last week for the Negev Desert ceremony.

“I’m really ecstatic,” Lt. O said of her graduation. “It took a while until I could feel all the excitement. As soon as my family landed I felt it. Until then I had a bunch of tests and flights.” Lt. O, an Israel native who was raised in the United States, was trained to fly a Boeing 707. She will take on a role that consists of aerial refueling operations and hauling cargo, including medical supplies needed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

She follows in the footsteps of her father, Boaz, who was an IAF navigator for 22 years before moving to the United States. Her mother, Naomi, who served as an IDF communications officer, now works for the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, which provides services to lone soldiers. Her older sister is in Israel and plans special forces operations for its Navy.  Lt. O said that she had it “much easier than other lone soldiers” because she already spoke Hebrew and was familiar with Israeli culture, but that the training was still “the most challenging thing” she had ever done. And while her Israeli upbringing stateside was an asset, joining the military was still a significant “culture shock.”

Lt. O initially planned on studying medicine stateside before deciding to move back to Israel and enlist in the IAF.  It was, she told JTA, “definitely the right decision.”

Main Photo: A 21-year-old, whose name has not been released by Israeli censors, is Israel’s first female American air force pilot. (Israel Air Force)