SCOTIA — Col. Michele Kilgore continues to use her passion for flying to soar to new heights in the military.

She was among the first women to fly F-16 fighter jets after the ban was lifted in 1993. She was the first woman to be a group commander at the 174th Attack Wing.

On Sunday afternoon, Kilgore became the first woman to command the 109 Airlift Wing at Stratton Air Base in Scotia during a 45-minute change-of-command ceremony.

Kilgore is only the second female wing commander in the New York Air National Guard.

Her skills as a commander are more important than her gender though, said Col. Shawn Clouthier, the 109th’s out-going commander.

“To me, it’s a not a gender thing, it’s the ability, the capability and she brings all of that,” he said. “She’s going to be a marvelous commander.”

Military tradition was a part of Kilgore’s life long before she joined the Air Force. Her grandfather served in the Navy during World War II and her father flew F-4s in Vietnam.

“I knew I always wanted to fly," she said. "And I joined the Air Force to fly airplanes. So whenever they wanted someone to change from one mission to another…I was right there to say, ‘Yea, let’s do it.'"

That desire was cemented the first time she went flying. Her parents bought her flying lessons for her 18th birthday and she went up in a Cessna 152 along the San Diego coastline.

“Out over the coast, out over the water watching the waves crash and I was hooked,” she said. “It only took one hour.”

Kilgore enrolled in the Air Force Academy and graduated in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in political science.

From there she moved on to a number of duty tours that took her around the world.

She flew KC-10As and C-12Fs in California and F-16s in Arizona and Japan. Eventually she deployed seven times, flying in support of operations Northern Watch, Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and Freedom’s Sentinel, according to her Air Force biography.

Before assuming command Sunday in Scotia, Kilgore served as the commander for the 174th Operations Group, 174th Attack Wing at Hancock Field in Syracuse. While there she oversaw MQ-9 Reaper combat operations in support of U.S. military efforts against the Taliban and the Islamic State.

As 109th's commander Kilgore will have a unique mission.

The 109th primarily provides support for U.S. military and National Science Foundation operations in the Arctic and Antarctic with the military’s only LC-130Hs, which are transport aircraft modified with wheel-ski gear.

She'll oversee more than 1,100 people, a massive budget and be responsible for missions at opposite ends of the earth.

And last month the Air Force announced it was developing a new Arctic strategy.

“If we’re the only ski-equipped airplanes then we’re going to be part of that in terms of our experience,” Kilgore said. “It’s an exciting time to be a part of the Air Force.”

And when the woman who grew up dreaming of flying was asked if she find the opportunity to fly as part of her new post, she just flashed a smile.

“Yes,” she said.