The officers and crew of Navy Squadron VR 57 really know how to give someone a lift. The Conquistadors, as they’re known, support Navy fleets throughout the world by airlifting personnel and cargo to their bases. But the squadron teamed with the Make-A-Wish Foundation^® for a different mission: lifting a teenage girl’s spirits.

Chelsie, who is being treated for a brain tumor, has always wanted to be a Navy pilot. The 15-year-old looks up to her brother-in-law who serves in the Navy, and she never missed an episode of the television show JAG. She decided that the wish that would make her soar would be a flight in a Navy aircraft.

Wish granters for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Idaho worked with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of San Diego to find a unit able to get Chelsie’s wish off the ground. That’s when the Conquistadors stepped forward. They didn't just offer Chelsie a ride on one of their C-40 Clipper aircraft: They invited her to be a crewmember for a mission.

Chelsie and her family made the trip from Idaho to San Diego, where the Conquistadors are based at NAS North Island. Commander Thomas Hartmann, the squadron’s commanding officer, welcomed Chelsie and gave her wish wings by issuing her a custom-made uniform and proclaiming her an honorary member of the Conquistadors. He also presented her with a coin military officers customarily give to special visitors before taking her on a tour.

One C-40 crew met Chelsie and gave her a headset and showed her how to help with the pre-flight checklist. Though the C-40 looks like a 737 that might shuttle people to vacation spots, inside it’s all military business. Chelsie was in the cockpit for an hour-long mission aboard the C-40 before returning to the base on CoronadoIsland.

After the flight, Chelsie continued her Navy experience. She got her sea legs during a personalized tour of the decommissioned aircraft carrier U.S.S. Midway. The carrier is a naval aviation museum permanently moored at Navy Pier. She enjoyed missions in the museum’s two flight simulators and a close look at its spectacular collection of historic naval aircraft.

“I had a great time,” Chelsie told a Navy journalist. “Everybody was nice and supportive. They gave too much.”