https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82669618279?pwd=UGFaS214UW5GREN3bmpWYnFPbDFaUT09
Jana Tobias is a corporate helicopter captain for a Fortune 500 company in New England., where her roles include helicopter captain, and training and standardization captain, responsible for the helicopter department training program and ensuring department compliance with written policy and procedures. Jana’s flight career began in the Army in 1995, when she joined the Army ROTC program at her alma mater, University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB). Jana did not always know she wanted to fly, but she always had the innate desire to serve. Once Jana discovered the opportunity to become a pilot through the Army, she set her sights on getting selected for the Army Aviation branch. Upon graduation in June of 1999, Jana was commissioned as an Active Duty Second Lieutenant into the Unites States Army Aviation Branch. Jana’s Army career began with flight school, at Fort Rucker Alabama, sending her off to her first assignment in Korea as a brand-new Blackhawk pilot. Jana served on active duty for nine years, with assignments to Korea, Fort Hood Texas, and a deployment to Iraq in 2004-2005. In 2008, Jana left to military to begin her family, and later rejoined the National Guard to serve the remainder of her 20 years, including another deployment to Iraq in 2010-2011. Throughout Jana’s service, her major roles and accomplishments included Executive Officer of an Air Traffic Service Unit in Korea, Platoon Leader, Executive Officer and Company Commander of a flight unit, and Company Commander of a flight detachment and support and security unit. She is rated in the Bell-206 Jet Ranger, OH-58 A/C, UH-60A/L Blackhawk, UH-72 Lakota, AS350 B3E A-Star, and the AW139 which she currently flies. Some of the most memorable missions she was a part of were the disaster relief missions of hurricane Katrina, and security operations along the Southwest border. Jana’s career path eventually branched off into the civilian sector when she was hired at her current job and relocated to Massachusetts in 2015. Jana finished her twenty years of service in the Massachusetts National Guard, flying the UH-72 Lakota as a Warrant Officer. Jana is married to LJ Tobias, former Blackhawk crew-chief, Apache, and Blackhawk helicopter pilot and current RJ175 Captain for Envoy. They have three children, Mark 15, Johnathan 13, and Sylvia 12. Jana’s family has become quite accustomed to New England, loving the adventures of hockey, including Jana! They enjoy mountain biking as a family and of course mastered the art of snowplowing! In Jana’s newfound free time of life after the military, she has found more and interesting ways to serve, including her new role as an ambassador for the non-profit organization Pin-Ups for Vets. She was featured as Miss June in this year’s calendar of women veterans totaling over 100 years of service. This organization raises money for hospitalized veterans and deployed troops. Jana has personally been featured in her local paper and Fox News for her past accomplishments and service to the United States as well as her current role in Pin-Ups for Vets. The organization recently was featured on NBC Nightly News. Jana is honored to share her journey to pay respect to past generations and in hopes to inspire generations to come.