Capt Nahira N. Figueroa Otero is an Airfield Operations Officer (13M) at 612th Air Base Squadron at Soto Cano air Base, Honduras. As an Operations Flight Commander, she leads a 45-member flight responsible for Air Traffic Control Tower, Weather, Airfield Management, and Radar, Airfield, and Weather Systems (RAWS) Maintenance. Additionally, she manages and directs over $50M in navigational aids and communications equipment supporting the U.S.'s only strategic and combined-use airfield in Central America and Joint Task Force-Bravo's (JTF-B) rotary wing flying mission. Moreover, Captain Figueroa develops local operation procedures to meet International Civil Aviation Organization, Host Nation, and DoD criteria. Finally, she negotiates airspace and ATC operation requirements with Honduran Air Force (HAF) officials.

Captain Figueroa commissioned in August 2018 from the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Detachment 755 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Puerto Rico. She completed Airfield Operations Officer Qualification Training Course in May 2019 at Keesler AFB, Mississippi. Following graduation, she has held numerous duties in and outside of the United States. Capt Figueroa is also part of the Language Enabled Airman Program and has travelled to countries like Chile and Honduras to enhance her bilingual capabilities. Captain Figueroa has taken part in various large-scale exercises and operations like COPE NORTH, Valiant Shield and PAC IRON. Prior to her current position, Captain Figueroa was the Operations officer at the 36th Contingency Response Squadron, Andersen AFB, Guam. She was the lead Landing Zone Safety Officer on Guam's Pacific Regional Training Center's dual Landing Zones and adjacent islands like Palau, Tinian, and Wake Island. Her team had multiple firsts with 5th generation aircraft, and she obtained various qualifications to include Contingency Response mission planner and Drop Zone Controller. During operations, they provided air traffic, aerial transportation and refueling services to a variety of platforms (F-15, F-16, F-22, F-35, C-17, C-130, KC-46, UH-60, and partner nations aircraft). Captain Figueroa was also the lead surveyor for Landing Zones, Drop Zones, and airports in multiple countries like the Philippines, Thailand, and Taiwan. Wearing multiple hats, she has supported POTUS and VPOTUS missions as the operations officer for units deployed to Cambodia and Thailand.