Durham’s army captain, killed in a collision in the middle, was a “shiny and fearless” patriot – North State Journal

Washington, Colombia County – North Carolina’s US Army captain, who died in a clash in the middle of Wednesday of a black hauk collision and a US Airlines plane was “brilliant and fearless” and “meticulous in everything he did,” said friends and Fellow soldiers.

Captain Rebecca M. Lobach, of Durham, was identified by the army on Saturday as one of the three soldiers killed in the crash near the Reagan National Airport, just outside Washington, County of Colombia, for all died 67 people, including 60 Jets and 4 passengers The crew members.

Lobach has served as an Aviation Army officer since July 2019, winning an army and medal medal after graduating from UNC Chapel as a prominent military graduate in the top 20% of ROTC cadets throughout the country , her family announced.

Last month, she accompanied the fashion designer Ralph Lauren to the White House when he was awarded the presidential medal for freedom.

The USA Today Davis Winkie White House correspondent trains with Lobach in the UNC ROTC program. They were in the same training platoon at Fort Knox, Kentucky, in 2018 and have been friends ever since.

“Rebecca was a brilliant and fearless, talented pilot and PT pedigree,” Vinky wrote in a social media publication, using a redundancy for physical training.

A statement published by the army, Lobach’s family said she had more than 450 hours of flight time and won “certification as a pilot in a command after extensive tests of the oldest and most experienced pilots in her battalion.”

The army released the names of the other two Black Hawk soldiers last Friday, but refused Lobach’s name until Saturday at the request of her family. SGT employee. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28 -year -old from Lilburn, Georgia, was the Chief of the Crew. The CEO of the Order 2 Andrew Lloyd Aves, 39 -year -old, from Great Mills, Maryland, was the pilot.

Lobach “was a patriot, she loved her country,” her close friend Sam Brown told Wncn-TV.

Lexi Frace credits Lobach’s mentoring that she inspires her to become an aviation officer in the National Guard of Colombia.

“Not only was she interested in being a leader and the best officer who could, but also that he was the best pilot he could,” Frace told Raleley Station.

Another friend Sabrina Bell said that Lobach “is thorough in everything she did, she has never done anything half -hearted, has never done anything impulsive.”

The Lobach family noted that she served as a certified sexual harassment/attack to respond to victims and prevention, advocate and hopes to become a doctor when he left the army.

“We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. She has been a bright star throughout our lives. She was kind, generous, brilliant, fun, ambitious and strong. No one dreamed more or more worried to achieve his goals, “the statement said.

“We ask you to respect your privacy as we grieve this devastating loss,” added Lobach’s family.

Following the crash, President Donald Trump accused the helicopter of flying too high altitude, saying: “You had a pilot problem from a helicopter point of view. I mean, since it was visual, it was a very clear night. “

The remarks, combined with Trump’s criticism of diversity initiatives in air traffic controller, add only speculation on social media, misinformation and vitriol about the makeup of the Black Hawk team. There was no evidence that the rules of diversity included in the clash.

Former military recruiter Bilal Cordab told Wral-TV that Lobach is kind, intelligent and “puts so much pressure on himself that it is the best of the best and the extra mile.”

Before transferring to UNC, Lobach played basketball at Division III College at the University of South.

Winky said he and Lobach were both for the ROTC program, “and are quickly bonded with the new children in the block.”

One day, while at Fort Knox, learning about the various career paths of the army officer, Winky said he and Lobach had happened at a small helicopter called the MH-6 Little Bird.

Winky, which is 6 feet-6, said Lobach-Entricted 5 feet-7 in his basketball days at college, smiled maliciously with him and asked, “Do you think we can both fit?”

“I will be cursed if we have not somehow filled in this cockpit,” Winky wrote in Lobach of X, known as Twitter. “The neck hurts and I don’t think we would be able to fly it very well, but we were both shining in the selfie he took.”

Winky wrote that shortly after the crash on Wednesday, he sent messages to Lobach, asking, “Are you fine?” He said he did not realize until the next day that the message had not passed.