Staff Sergeant Jasmine Chavez is a Loadmaster in the Alaska Air National Guard stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska where she works with the 211th Rescue Squadron to perform Search and Rescue operations across the state. Years of riding in the back of C-130’s and being around aircrew and flight operations helped her when she decided to pursue her private pilot certification at the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Aviation Program.
Now when she looks to the future she dreams of carrying people and cargo into Alaska’s rural communities as a bush pilot and of flying U.S. Air Force jets as a commissioned officer.
Video and story by Valerie Kern
Additional footage from DVIDShub.net, Jasmine Chavez, Dylan Johnson, John Sievert, Travis Gilmour, Hanna Craig, Eric Keto, Kaysie Ellingson
Music from Universal Production Music
Originally from the Central Coast of California, Valerie joined Alaska Public Media in July 2017. She creates original video content for the station's TV and digital platforms while also overseeing the Production Department. Before moving to Alaska, Valerie worked as an ENG Editor at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina. She also served in the U.S. Air Force as a TV and Radio Broadcast Journalist where she traveled around Europe, Africa, The Baltics, Australia, and the Southern United States reporting on military events, exercises, and missions. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, backcountry skiing, backpacking, yoga, and traveling.
