It dawned on me that it would be the right move. I could cook and I could travel — two things I wanted to do

If there was ever an advert for achieving goals through self- belief and dedication, Captain Joanna Gordon would be in it.

Jo is only the second female pilot to fly the 200mph Apache attack helicopters in Afghanistan. It’s a job, she says, that never stops being rewarding.

My interview with Jo takes place at the home of her parents David and Margaret, who proudly describe their youngest daughter as a “go-getter – the epitome of achieving anything you want”.

The 39-year-old pilot was born in Caerphilly but grew up in South Devon. She was schooled at Milber Primary and Junior School and Knowles Hill School, now known as Newton Abbot College.

As a teenager she worked in the Elizabethan Inn, her dad’s local in Luton near Newton Abbot, and completed a City and Guilds course in catering to fulfil a childhood dream of being a chef.

She recalls: “I wanted to be a chef but didn’t want to work in the kitchens of the big Torquay hotels. There was a fete in Decoy and we went along. The Women’s Royal Army Corps had an information stand there and Dad said, ‘why don’t you consider the Army?’

“It dawned on me that it would be the right move. I could cook and I could travel – two things I wanted to do.”

She enrolled and completed training before transferring to the Army Catering Corps and travelling the world. During a deployment to Germany she realised she wanted to conquer the Armed Forces’ newest weapon: the Apache.

She said: “It was 2am and I was in the kitchen preparing soup for the next day. Around that time, the Apache had been unveiled and it was a huge deal – not in terms of its capabilities but also what it represented.

“I realised I wanted to fly them. I said to myself ‘I’m going to do it’. It was never ‘I will try’ or ‘I think I can’. I just knew I could fly them.”

The Apache is a highly complex machine that can operate in all weathers, day or night. It can detect up to 256 potential targets in a matter of seconds and carries an arsenal of weapons including rockets, Hellfire missiles and a chain gun. Its cutting edge radar systems, thermal imaging and other defensive tools can make grown men cry in toy-related joy.

The intricacies of learning to fly the Apache includes a long ground school and conversion course, followed by weapons systems and tactics and enhanced training. It’s tough and takes a special kind of person, regardless of sex. Does Jo find it uncomfortable that she gets singled out because she is a woman?

“Yes,” she said. “I’m just another person doing a job. Special? No. Unique? Maybe. I wanted to do something and I went for it. I just happen to be a woman.

“I would tell anyone who wants a job in the Army to go for it. You never know what you can achieve.”

The Apache plays a major role in the Joint Helicopter Force’s operations in Afghanistan. Based at Camp Bastion in the heart of the Helmand province, it’s part of the tri-service detachment along with Royal Air Force Chinooks, Merlins, Royal Navy Sea Kings and Army Air Corps Lynx helicopters. All are playing their part in this fragile and volatile anti-terrorism campaign.

Apache crews respond to incidents such as supporting ground troops fighting against insurgents and escorting medical emergency rescue team Chinook helicopters extracting casualties under enemy fire. More traditional missions include providing mutual support to larger helicopters carrying troops or equipment.

Jo is keen to play down her role, preferring to heap acclaim on ground troops.

“They are the ones doing all the work,” she said. “And while my job can be dangerous, their jobs are even more so. They do a fantastic job. Being in the helicopter means you are slightly detached from what’s happening on the ground. We do what we can to support and keep them alive. The teamwork is vital.”

The dark side of war is never far from the headlines. 327 British servicemen and women have died in Afghanistan since 2001. Her motivation and distraction from the daily combat risk include good workouts in the gym and regular contact with her own loved ones, including her partner, Jason, himself an ex-Apache pilot.

“Any death is very sad. It affects everyone. It never gets any easier and you pray for the families of those who have died.”

Family is a big part of Jo’s life. She credits them with much of her success. “They are just so incredibly supportive. I miss them a lot. I always come and see them before and after deployment. I miss the weather and I miss the Torquay palm trees.”

With 21 years served in the Army, 12 of which are in flying, Jo’s armed forces career should be held up as a real example of achievement through tenacity and confidence – and she has done it without a fake tan or footballer in sight.