Lieutenant Shachar, 22, is the fourth female combat pilot in the history of the Israel Air Force (IAF). She wears a pony tail, which IAF Commander Major General Amir Eshel had to push aside to pin on the badge of her pilot’s wings.

After serving as an instructor on a flight simulator for a year and a half, Shachar decided she wanted to fly the real thing and was accepted in the IAF’s elite Flight Academy. She graduated from the grueling three-year course, with teachers and friends testifying that she is a leader who sets goals and achieves them.

Outside of the Air Force, her hobbies include basketball, surfing and skateboarding.