Kenya has produced remarkable individuals over the years who have gone on to make a name for themselves in various fields and across various countries worldwide.
In this segment, Nairobileo.co.ke, takes a look at the career of Lieutenant Fiona Akoth, one of the best African women serving with the US Military.
In 2017, the Columbia Air Force Academy shared a post indicating that she was among the students that had been trained as airforce pilots.
File image of Lieutenant Fiona Akoth. |Photo| Courtesy|
Akoth was born and raised on the shores of Lake Victoria at the Lakeside City of Kisumu but immigrated to Texas, US at the age of 13 to study.
“I was well engrained in the roots back in Kenya. I had to leave a familiar country with a familiar group of friends when I was just becoming a teenager looking for a solid foundation, and that was challenging,” she was quoted by the military website as saying.
After high school, Akoth faced numerous challenges securing college admissions since her parents lacked enough money. She relentlessly applied for scholarships.
It was this time she applied to the US Naval Academy before she finally settled for the Airforce Academy.
She stated that her decision to join the airforce was that she could give back to the community that raised her and to also test the limits.
Growing up, Akoth lived close to the airport and together with her friends, she would watch planes land and depart from the airfield. This fueled her desire to be an airforce pilot.
“It has been my destiny to become a pilot. My grandfather always told me to never give up on my dream and now here I am,” she narrated.
Akoth was drafted to the Language Enabled Airman Program (LEAP), which allows airforce personnel who can speak another language fluently to translate and help build relations with local populations near military instillations because she is fluent in Swahili.
After graduating from the US Airforce Academy, she began training to be an Air Force pilot at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi.
In the US Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, a first lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer. It is just above the rank of second lieutenant and just below the rank of captain.
File image of Lieutenant Fiona Akoth. |Photo| Courtesy|
File image of Lieutenant Fiona Akoth. |Photo| Courtesy|
