Nicole Kelly joined the Air Force in August 2002 and served on active duty until August 2006. She served during the height of the Iraq War with the 17th Airlift Squadron as a C-17 Loadmaster. Nicole was responsible for cargo and passengers before, during, and after each flight while calculating the weight and balance on the aircraft. The C-17 aircraft transported food and supplies to avoid deadly land-based convoys. Their motto was : "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime."

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Nicole later served in the Air Force Reserves at the 560th RED HORSE squadron in Charleston, SC. RED HORSE stands for: Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operation Repair Squadron Engineers.