Evangelia Kafantogeia-Kriebardh, Wing Commander and pilot of the Air Force, spoke to Buongiorno about the “challenge” of her journey and career, as well as the difficulties of the profession. She analyzed the motivations, challenges and satisfaction that her work offers. “I feel proud to belong to the women of the Air Force, who prove daily that gender defines neither abilities nor anyone’s limits. Both our society and the Armed Forces have evolved,” she emphasized among other things.
“I grew up in a military family. My grandfather, my father and later my sister were all officers in the Air Force. So it was a role model in my life. On the other hand, the uniform always impressed me. And the idea of someone serving their homeland is a great ideal. It’s natural for us to have two girls, both pilots. Mom is a very strong and dynamic woman. If she could have entered a military school back then, she would have done it. She raised us to be independent and empowered. Certainly when someone hears that we are pilots, they are impressed because they don’t expect it. Maybe because we are girls too. Without the uniform, they might see us as more girlish and can’t imagine it. Not everyone can handle it. Certainly, not everyone can handle such a dynamic and successful woman,” said Evangelia Kafantogeia-Kriebardh initially.
“For a girl to choose to enter a military school, it takes dynamism”
When asked what someone needs to become a pilot in the Air Force, she answers that “the first thing needed is to want it and love it. To have passion for it. Because to become a professional and meet the requirements, you have to really try.” And she continues: “The Icarus School is four years and then depending, because we are aviators, flight training can continue even after school. For me about six years, that is, with the training I have done, in the aircraft I have been trained on. For a girl to choose to enter a military school, it takes dynamism. Every military school requires sacrifices, will and effort. The most difficult thing for an aviator is flight training. There you really have to want it, try with all your strength and love what you do. More the adrenaline and love for flying, these are what overcome.”
“I feel proud to belong to the women of the Air Force”
“We do medical evacuations. So, beyond this happiness you feel and the freedom of the air, you are happy and joyful and feel fulfilled because you perform a service. At the Icarus School you are not man or woman, you are Icarus. If you have to prove something to someone, no. A person who knows their abilities, has self-awareness and self-confidence, always pursues the best for themselves. Their self is their biggest judge. So, we always try to become better for ourselves. I feel proud to belong to the women of the Air Force, who prove daily that gender defines neither abilities nor anyone’s limits. Both our society and the Armed Forces have evolved,” she emphasizes next.
Regarding courtesy, she said: “In our field we are professionals, so you are always polite and respectful, this is self-evident for a professional and you certainly set your boundaries. To every new girl who dreams of becoming an aviator, I want to tell her to dare it. It’s not a male profession. It requires hard work though and discipline. The sky doesn’t belong to any gender. It belongs only to those who dare to claim it,” the pilot noted in closing.
