Hannah Omdahl
Name: Kjersti Hannah Omdahl Age: 32Nationality: American (Bemidji, MN) Height: 1.68m (5'6")
Branch(MOS): US Army, Aviation (MOS 153M72BNR) Weight: 50 kg (110 lbs)
Unit: 101st Combat Aviation Brigade Hair: Dark Brown
Rank: Chief Warrant Officer 2 Eyes: Blue-Grey with a touch of Green/Hazel
Current Assignment: NATO Task Force Forty-Seven Complexion: Lightly Tanned
Physical Description:
An American-born female of Norwegian ancestry; Hannah is of average height and slightly below average weight. She has a light, lithe build and her strength is best described as 'wiry'. She wears the sand-colored BDU's and her lapels are decorated with the insignia of an aviator in the US Army. She often sports a pair of designer Oakleys.
Languages: English (Native), Norwegian (Fluent), Arabic (Pidgin)
Skills:
Primary Certifications: Pilot (Rotary-Wing): UH-60M Blackhawk, Small Arms (Pistol), Unarmed Combat
Secondary Qualifications: Aircraft Mechanic, Electronics, Ground Vehicle (Wheeled and Motorcycle), Metallurgy,
Navigation, Physics, Small Watercraft, Swimming
Basic Training: Autogun, Computer, Construction, First Aid, Instruction, Leadership, Machinist,
Mechanics, Meteorology, Observation,, Persuasion, Survival, Thrown Weapon
Background:
Born Kjersti Hannah Omdahl, Hannah is a trim light-brown brunette of average height, light build and prominent Norwegian ancestry. Her eyes are a pale blue-grey with a touch of green or hazel (depending on the light - and if you can get close enough). She hails from one of the suburbs (if such really can be said to exist) of Bemidji, Minnesota. Only her family uses her first name, often shortening it to 'Kris' or 'Kristi'. Ever since junior high, Hannah has introduced herself as 'Hannah' seeming to prefer her middle name.
Her parents, Tomas and Elin Omdahl, were already fifth generation immigrants; and both of her parents families had been farmers for many generations. Tomas was a retired army staff sergeant, having served as a wheeled vehicle mechanic with the 5th infantry division in Vietnam; though he saw plenty of action, Tomas rarely spoke of his time in Southeast Asia to his family. Hannah has always known him to be a rather quiet and cool-headed, but loving father - if sometimes a touch distant. Still, the Omdahl patriarch doted on his only daughter a fair bit. Her mother was a school teacher at Bemidji High School. A good educator, Elin always pushed her children to excel, taking great pride in their achievements.
The fourth of five children, all of the rest of whom are boys, Hannah's childhood can be said to be rather idyllic. A bit of a tomboy, Hannah was always trying to keep up with her brothers whether it was on the ice, in the water or on the road. She swam competitively and learned to drive both cars and motorcycles at an early age. Feeling that self-sufficiency was important, Tomas taught his daughter basic mechanics (which she did seem to have an aptitude for) as well as some self-defense.
Hannah joined the army out of high school. Though her grades were solid, they weren't great. Unable to obtain a merit scholarship and being fourth in the line, her family couldn't afford to send her to college. Given her mechanical aptitude, Hannah was trained as an aviation mechanic and then assigned to the 17th Cavalry Regiment, 21st Squadron, 82nd Airborne Combat Aviation Brigade. Though he never said anything about it, Hannah suspects that her father was proud enough. It was quite obvious that her choice of service and specialty were influenced by the elder Omdahl. She carried herself with distinction and was promoted to sergeant in fairly short order. However, Hannah longed not to just work on the helicopters, but to fly them.
So, she devised a plan to become a warrant officer and an aviator. But to do that, she felt that she needed to get her college degree first. While, it wasn't a strict requirement to have such an education (only a high school diploma is officially required to apply), Hannah felt that for herself that she needed to have a better theoretical grounding to really get the most out of herself and technology. And with the GI Bill, it seemed the Uncle Sam was more than willing to accommodate her.
Hannah spent the next four years getting her bachelor's degree in Engineering at Georgia Tech. Again she got quite good, if not stellar grades. And she got a good grounding in both aeronautical engineering and material science. She insisted on working with her hands, helping to set up a laboratory and some experimental apparatus as part of her undergraduate thesis project to supplement her book learning. Though friendly enough, Hannah found herself a bit of a fish out of water, being older than most undergraduates in her class and in a climate much further south than she was raised in. She spent a fair amount of time in the gym, and in particular worked on her physical coordination and flexibility by studying aikido and judo.
Equipped with her degree, Hannah applied for the Warrant Officer Flight Training program and was accepted. Her specialization was with the UH-60M Blackhawk helicopter. And once she was done with the training, Hannah was assigned back to the 17th Cavalry Regiment - but this time in the 2nd Squadron, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade. She must have impressed her instructors somewhat to get posted to one of the most highly decorated units in the US Army, and one with a fair amount of tradition to uphold. She named her bird, Migizi ('Bald Eagle' in Ojibwe, 'Migs' for short).
Not surprisingly, Hannah has seen plenty of action with the 101st Airborne stationed in both Iraq and Afghanistan during her time with the unit. Warrant Officer (and eventually Chief Warrant Officer) Omdahl has flown a number of missions in both theaters. And Hannah was well known for her skill, her willingness, and her courage to put her Blackhawk down wherever necessary, especially with men's lives at stake. More than once she put her UH-60M down on a roof of a car or in other tight quarters in order for an injured squad-mate to be able to be extracted or her team to gain a tactical advantage on or near a hot LZ. Hannah has proven to have inherited (or learned) more than a touch of levelheadedness from her father; she only hopes that her actions have made him (and her mother) proud.
About half a year ago, just over two years into her present tour, Hannah's unit came under heavy fire during a mission extraction in north of Kandahar. Both Hannah and Migizi were damaged: she was hit in the right leg and lower abdomen, while her Blackhawk had its hydraulics damaged. The latter pretty much requiring Hannah to fly and land the craft effectively on manual reversion. It was only with an act of sheer willpower and determination (as well as a fair bit of skill and even more luck) that she was able to make it back to base with her squad alive. But make it home she did, and with the UH-60M and her platoon-mates (relatively) intact. However, Hannah had lost a lot of blood has spent the last couple of months recovering from her wounds and then undergoing extensive physical therapy in order to get herself reinstated back to active flight status.