High Altitude, Higher Excellence: Pilot Sarah Watson Soars Both In and Out of the Cockpit

“I was always interested in airplanes. I was always looking up at the sky when I was little,” Sarah says.

Her mom and dad, Colleen and Tom Perry, knew how fascinated their young daughter was with airplanes. For her 13th birthday, Colleen surprised Sarah by taking her to a small airport in their hometown where pilots were offering children airplane rides.

“My parents always pushed me to pursue my dreams,” she says.

It would be Sarah’s very first time in an airplane. Before taking off in the small Cessna plane, the pilot asked her if she would like to fly the plane herself, and of course, she was elated.

“I knew right then and there that I wanted to do that for the rest of my life,” she says.

Avionics

The summer after graduating from high school, Sarah attended college and acquired her pilot’s license. Following her freshman year, she set her sights on the U.S. Air National Guard. She exceeded standards on its entrance exam; she was then told that she could select any occupation that piqued her interest. Sarah chose the occupation of F-16 avionics technician.

In 2010, after completing a year-long training in both Wichita Falls, Texas and Keesler, Mississippi, Sarah traveled back home to graduate from college. She was able to graduate with her college class since she had acquired a variety of experience in her field. She earned a bachelor’s degree in aviation studies, flight technology and operations.

Sarah served as an avionics technician for five years before being promoted to a leadership and mentorship role as staff sergeant, soon enrolling in Airman Leadership School (ALS), a U.S. Air Force program designed to help develop airmen into effective leaders. Sarah attained various commendations, including wingman and airman awards, letters of accomplishment, along with various operations-based medals. During that time, she was also applying for pilot positions.

In 2011, the Savannah Air National Guard reached out to her. The selection process was very competitive; in fact, there can be between 50-200 applicants gunning for one position. Sarah was chosen. She immediately began her career, which involved two years of training all over the country. She was happy to return to the local area, purchase a house and make Pooler her home. Sarah has been flying with the Savannah Air National Guard for ten years.

C-130 Missions

 

Sarah pilots the C-130 aircraft, a versatile aircraft that is able to airdrop massive loads with the ability to get into territories that other aircraft cannot (tiny dirt strips or extremely rough terrain). She participates in air medical evacuations, air drops, air transport, cargo transport, flying with the use of night-vision goggles, hurricane rescues and formation flying.

Sarah remembers all the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Harvey in Texas. She assisted many individuals with relief efforts in both Beaumont and Galveston.

“People couldn’t get out, and none of the commercial airliners could get into the airports because they had no towers, no instrumentation, no air traffic controllers. They had no way to land a plane there, but our C-130’s could land there. We were flying in taking pallets of water. We would take hundreds and hundreds of people to Dallas in the back of our planes. We had families with infants, babies, people in wheelchairs, even crates with people’s pets,” she says. Sarah was awarded the Humanitarian Award for her extraordinary service during that time.

Throughout her career, Sarah has traveled to over 45 countries. She has been deployed multiple times, having over 200 combat hours, 50 combat support hours and 150 sorties (combat flight missions). She was awarded the Air Medal for her deployments in combat. In 2019, Sarah was promoted to aircraft commander, an upgrade giving her charge of the entire C-130 aircraft; she is accompanied by a co-pilot and two loadmasters.

Excellence and Distinction

Sarah is no stranger to excelling beyond expectations and overcoming tremendous odds. She was always one of the only women in her profession. While in college, there was only one other young woman in her field.

“In avionics, I was the only one in the whole school and in my pilot training classes. I was the only woman Savannah hired who was not a previous pilot; I was sent all the way through training to become aircraft commander. We now have five or six lady pilots at our squadron,” she says.

Sarah enjoys being an example of excellence and distinction.

“I’ve proved myself by being competent and confident and by excelling in everything. I do see that results are the strongest response in a male-dominated field. I think to be a strong leader means making hard decisions and having the trust from other people that you’ll do the right thing, even if it’s difficult,” she says.

Making Her Mark

Sarah has proved herself time and again; she has used challenges and adversities as opportunities to make a valuable mark.

“When I was growing up, I didn’t know any ladies in these positions, so I didn’t have any mentors, and I don’t want that for other women. Having two young daughters, I want girls to know that they don’t have to just accept something because of their gender or how they look,” she says.

Sarah volunteers with Women in Aviation International, a non-profit organization formed to help educate girls about different opportunities in the field of aviation. She is also a part of Pilots for Kids, a non-profit organization that offers medical assistance to young patients at children’s hospitals –  providing food for the families of the patients, along with gifts and various supplies for the patients. The organization recently gifted a young girl plane tickets for a flight.

“Her mom said she had never been on a plane. She was so excited,” Sarah says.

Commercial Airline Pilot

Sarah’s successful military career helped her to attain one of her biggest goals – becoming a commercial airline pilot which she has been for three years.

“Being an airline pilot had always been my goal. It was one of my dreams that finally came to reality,” she says.

Living the Dream

Sarah remembers being that little girl who always looked up into the sky, so starry-eyed and intrigued, often getting her parents’ attention when she would see a plane fly by. Now, she is the person flying the plane - First Officer Sarah Watson. She knows that a little girl somewhere is looking up with those same starry eyes and enormous aspirations that she had long ago.

“In 2025, I was able to surprise my mother; I was her airline pilot for the first time. She was so ecstatic. It really meant a lot to the both of us. [She] and my dad have always been extremely supportive of my dreams no matter how big or how far away they took me,” Sarah says.

Devoted Mom

Sarah flies out of Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport each morning, often headed to one or two destinations. She usually lands just in time to pick her two daughters up from school. Sarah has a five-year-old daughter and a three-year-old daughter.

She enjoys being an involved and supportive mom, one who likes to visit her children at school, help with class parties or join them in parades. She wants her girls to see that a woman can prioritize family and still have a successful career.

“I think that’s a big thing that young girls need to see,” she says.

Both of her girls are very proud of their mommy.

“My youngest daughter saw a plane and told the babysitter, ‘That’s my mommy,’’’ Sarah says. “Once, she saw two planes and said, ‘Mommy’s really busy.’”

Making a Difference

After many of her flights, Sarah lingers just a while so young girls can see their lady pilot. They can see that even the sky is no limit for them.

“I like for girls, or anyone, to see me there to try to change the tone of the world, so it won’t be an unusual thing anymore. You can see the light on a lot of the moms’ faces when they say, ‘Look, honey, it’s a lady pilot,’” she says
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Sarah Watson soars both in and out of the cockpit, blazing a trail of distinction through her phenomenal service and commitment to excellence.