She's flown at twice the speed of sound, done an MBA and been a senior adviser to a defence minister, now Brooke Curtin has her sights set on a political seat of her own.
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One of the five Liberal candidates announced this week for the central electorate of Kurrajong, Ms Curtin has the sort of resume which puts to shame many a career politician.
While she has six months to gain a profile ahead of this year's ACT vote, her name came to national attention in 2000 when she became the equal first Australian woman qualified to navigate a fast jet aircraft, being the F-111.
The elite Air Force role meant the Newcastle-raised, ADFA-educated aircrew member travelled at Mach 2, twice the speed of sound or more than 2000 kilometres per hour, on many flights on the strike and reconnaissance aircraft.
After a dozen years in the Air Force she left to pursue a corporate career, working for Boston Consulting Group with clients such as Qantas and the Commonwealth Bank before becoming a principal business adviser with Rio Tinto.
She returned to Canberra in 2012 with husband Robert Curtin, now the chief of staff to federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester, and for four months from late 2014 was an adviser to then-defence minister David Johnston.
Ms Curtin, 41, will leave her senior management role at the Civil Aviation and Safety Authority this month, with no sure guarantee of political success, to begin campaigning full-time for "more effective" government.
"This is now home, I've planted the lemon tree and orange tree in the backyard, and I really want to give back and use my experience for a better Canberra for today and for my children and the community and next generation," she said.
"The first aspect for me is I want a better health service, and with my business improvement background I know it can be better – I've sat at that emergency department at 1am with my seven-year-old daughter for hours on end."
The mother of three children aged 7, 5 and 2, she cited the light rail project as an example of poor decision-making by Labor, and said improving childcare services and increasing Canberra's share of Australia's tourists were driving ambitions.
A Young Liberal member in 2002, Ms Curtin said she had rejoined the party as a member in January, and had been given a waiver by the Liberal executive after narrowly missing the three-month membership eligibility for preselection later this month.
Once told by school kids she could never be in the Air Force because she was a girl, Ms Curtin said she was proud of the Liberals' diverse team, which includes 10 female candidates.
