Warrant Officer Tatiana Julien will go down in US history as the first African-American female pilot to serve in the Louisiana Army National Guard. This is a significant moment for one of the states that at the time of American unification was among the ranks of pro-slavery countries.

The woman was born in New Orleans, enlisted in 2014 and graduated from the Warrant Officer Candidate School in August 2019, before finishing flight school in July 2021. From now on, she will take the controls of the 244th Assault Battalion's Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters at Hammond Base. 

"I feel I have a responsibility to let young girls know that aviation is an option for them too, even though it's a male-dominated field. There are not many women, and even fewer African-Americans, in both the military and the civilian field. I like that the National Guard can be activated to help local communities, in different states and abroad", said the young pilot. 

"Hope, safety and relief were all I felt when I was rescued with my family from a CH-47 Chinook helicopter during Hurricane 'Katrina'. Now I am in a position where I may have to do the same for someone else".