'Angel of Death' Advises Air Force Academy Cadets on Coming Conflict at Recent Leadership Symposium
he Commando Hanger at Hurlburt Field, Florida, Feb. 10, 2024. (Alysa Calvarese/U.S. Air Force)
The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) | By Mary Shinn
Published March 03, 2025 at 9:26am ET
As her C-130H gunship approached enemy combatants in Afghanistan, former Air Force officer Allison Black's voice came across the field radios, shocking a Northern Alliance general.
A navigator on board, she was part of a crew that killed 200 combatants, and the Afghan general dialed into the Taliban frequency to tell them about Black.
"America is so determined, they bring their women to kill the Taliban. It is the 'angel of death' raining fire upon you," the general said, according to an Air Force profile of Black.
It was a mission early on during the Afghanistan War that spanned a large part of Black's 32 years in the Air Force. She reflected on the war and lessons in leadership during a recent National Character and Leadership Symposium at the Air Force Academy. The event was attended by students from other universities and schools, such as the New Mexico Military Institute.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/03/03/angel-of-death-advises-air-force-academy-cadets-coming-conflict-recent-leadership-symposium.html