An Albanian pilot from Kosovo has become part of the most important large-scale US-led international joint military exercise program taking place in Europe, ‘Defender 2021’.
Deputy Lieutenant, Valdete Mehanja was born in Kosovo but for years now she has been living in the US, where she serves as a helicopter pilot. Now she has come to Albania as a member of the US troops leading the joint military exercise ‘Defender 21’.
While recounting that earlier on, she used to be a civil pilot, Valdete told Euronews Albania that she decided to join the US army for a very powerful reason: “Because this army, and the US, in particular, has immensely helped the Albanian people, especially Kosovo. And I feel I have an obligation toward them, maybe even indebted”.
Meet Valdete Mehanja and Armela Murati, the two women from #Albania 🇦🇱 and #Kosovo 🇽🇰 taking part in the largest #US-led 🇺🇸 exercises in the Western Balkans #DefenderEurope21 pic.twitter.com/DrwAPivdJI
— Euronews Albania (@EuronewsAlbania) May 25, 2021
The Deputy Lieutenant spoke to Euronews Albania about her experience in the field of aviation.
She said that the idea to become a pilot was born at a time, when she was a civil contractor for the US, in Afghanistan. While the army is in the Kosovar pilot’s blood because her grandfather has been a part of Kosovo’s national armed forces.
“In Afghanistan, part of my duties involved the installment and programming of radio-connectivity and antennas in helicopters as well as ammunition plants around the base. That is when my desire to become a pilot was actually born,” stated Mehanja.
Mehanja started her studies for Aeronautic Sciences in 2010 in Florida, USA.
“In 2010, I went to Florida with a Kosovar nationality and covering my own expenses, I started my studies for Aeronautic Sciences. My graduate degree included piloting,” stated Valdete Mehanja.
According to Mehanja, the reason why being a military pilot is better than being a civil one because you have the chance to offer your help much more while traveling more also.
It is the first time that Valdete comes to Albania and she said that her return to the Albanian nation, as an officer in the field of military aviation has been very exciting for her.
“It has been a great pleasure for me, I experienced a lot of overwhelming emotions because coming back to the Albanian nation as an officer in the field of military aviation for the US and to collaborate, it has been an awesome experience for me that had never even crossed my mind and I had never thought that I might have the chance to be a part of something like this,” she said.
She said that in order to learn how to operate a new helicopter, you need at least 12 months because the systems in each helicopter are different and they need to be learned from the top.
“Usually, you’d need around 12 months, 4 months theory and then you begin to fly taking small steps and you learn. For every new type of helicopter, you want to embark on, you need to learn its system, limitations, emergencies, everything from the top,” she said.
During the ‘Defender 21’ military exercise, the pilot came across another young Albanian woman, who is preparing to become a helicopter, that would be the first one in the history of Albanian military aviation. Valdete stated that she feels happy and optimistic about this.
“In the future, I hope that there can be many Albanian women in the field of aviation and when I come back here, we can fly together in different missions of the alliance,” conclude Deputy Lieutenant Valdete Mehanja.
Interview in Albanian:
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