Naval Air Station Anacostia
Elevation: unlisted for security reasons
Washington, DC
Six days ago
Major Tamatha Jones forced herself to breathe calmly. Marine Corps helicopter pilots were not supposed to be nervous under any conditions, but today was proving to be the exception to the rule. Within the next thirty minutes, she’d be flying the President aboard his Marine One helicopter for her first time.
She worked her way through the preflight walkaround—a wholly redundant activity here at HMX-1. Their mechanics were the best in the world and the squadron’s birds reflected it; they had to. And none more so than her helo. When the President of the United States stepped aboard and it became Marine One, everything had to be perfect.
But she still always did a full preflight inspection af
