Lisa Marie "Sherman" Smith, a member of the Upper Sioux Community of Minnesota, is one of the few women in the U.S. Army to serve as a Chinook Crew Chief.

Smith always knew she wanted to join the military -- she has an older sister in the Army. She started her tour of duty in South Korea before becoming a part of the flight crew for the Chinook helicopter crew.

"They were like: ‘this chick ... she's not just here for jokes, she really wants to do her job,'" Smith told The Granite Falls Advocate Tribune of her superiors. "And so they picked me up and put me in the flight unit."

Smith is being deployed to Afghanistan next month. She's been asked to carry the Upper Sioux flag and represent her tribe during her service there.

Get the Story:
Not your ordinary Chinook 'chick' (The Granite Falls Advocate Tribune 10/19)