MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. -- Childhood dreams for many people fade away with time and the reality of life. However, Maj. Sarah M. Deal's childhood dream of becoming a Marine Corps pilot came true in 1993.
"When I was a kid, there was a vacant field across from our home where people flew radio-controlled airplanes. I used to ride my bike there and watch them. From that point, I was fascinated with flying," said the CH-53 Super Stallion pilot, Miramar Air Show coordinator and Pemberville, Ohio, native.
Deal's interest in aviation only grew from there. While in high school, she joined the Aviation Explorers, a program that gives children and young adults the opportunity to experience flying and develop their interest in aviation.
Knowing she wanted to be a pilot, Deal saved her money throughout her youth. After high school, she enrolled at Kent State University where she majored in aerospace flight technology. After four years of school and countless hours in civilian aircraft, she still wanted more.
Although the Marine Corps did not have a female aviation program, Deal knew that becoming a "devildog" was what she wanted to do. In the summer of 1991, between her 4th and 5th years of college, she attended the three-month Officer Candidates School at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.
After graduating college and successfully completing OCS, the first step in her career as a newly commissioned Marine Corps officer was The Basic School. Unique to the Marine Corps, this school prepares new officers to lead Marines, with particular emphasis on leadership in the infantry environment. After 26 weeks of rigorous classroom and field exercises, 2nd Lt. Deal moved on to her Military Occupational Specialty school. Not surprisingly, she did not stray far from her aviation dream and completed training as an Air Traffic Control officer.
While in her MOS school, Deal happened to see a newspaper headline announcing that the Marine Corps was going to begin to accept applications for flight school from female officers. Without hesitation, she went to the senior Marine at her school and told him, "I want to do this."
Undaunted as a second lieutenant two months out of TBS, Deal continued to pursue her dream by calling Headquarters Marine Corps, eventually convincing many higher-ups that she had the right stuff to fly for the Corps. While continuing her focus on ATC training, Deal went up for an assessment board just as any flight candidate would.
July 23, 1993 arrived, and Deal prepared for graduation from ATC school. She went to her room to get changed for the graduation and while there she listened to her phone messages. Amidst the messages were the words she was waiting to hear: she had been selected for Naval aviation training.
"I felt so incredibly happy. My dream was finally coming true, but I wish I had been prepared for what was to come," she said. During the ensuing days, she began to understand how much of a big step this was for her and the Marine Corps. Deal was on the road to becoming the Marine Corps' first female pilot. "I was swamped with media calls, and everyone wanted me to answer all their questions," she said.
When arriving at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., Deal faced a new challenge being the only female officer in flight school.
"I think being a licensed pilot out of college, with almost 400 flight hours, gave everyone around me a boost of confidence in my abilities," Deal said.
After training for 16 months in the TH-57 Sea Ranger, a significantly smaller helicopter than the Super Stallion, Deal finally earned her wings and was pinned April 21, 1995. She requested to fly CH-53s and was assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 466, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, at Marine Corps Air Station Tustin, Calif., with whom she deployed twice.
She later deployed to the Middle East with HMH-465, MAG-16, in January 2003, approximately 3 months before the U.S. invaded Iraq. She was then transferred to the Tactical Air Command Center at Ahmad Al Jabar Air Base, Kuwait.
With her family in mind, Deal decided to change to reserve status after 12 years of active duty service. She is now a full-time mom to her four-year-old, twin boys Troy and Brandon Burrow. She currently resides in San Diego with her husband of more than eight years Philip M. Burrow, a Navy reserve pilot and a full-time pilot for United Airlines.
Since 2004, Deal has been the static-display coordinator for the Miramar Air Show and hopes to remain coordinator for at least another three years. In her free time, Deal enjoys playing soccer and is an active participant in triathlons. She is also involved in cross-country air racing where she flies over 2,000 miles in three to four days.