Kirk Donovan
Kirk Donovan spent most of his early years in Presque Isle, Maine, and then his teenage years just across the border in Hartland, New Brunswick. After high school, he joined the US Army as a Missile Operator and Early Warning Specialist for Space Command in White Sands, New Mexico, and Colorado Springs, Colorado.
After five years active duty, Kirk moved back home to Maine and worked full-time for the National Guard Counter Drug Task Force as the State Training Officer and Criminal Intelligence Analyst. During his time with the National Guard, he attended the Army’s Flight School and Warrant Officer Program. He continued to fly as a part-time pilot, in addition to his full-time analyst duties until in 2010, when he was selected to the Army’s Special Operation Aviation Regiment (160th SOAR).
Once again, Kirk left Maine for active duty with the Army’s Special Operations Command as a full-time pilot, which afforded him the opportunity to work shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the most brilliant minds the armed forces have to offer. While there, he attended Embry Riddle University, earning a degree in Professional Aeronautics.
During his combined 25 years with the US Army and National Guard, Kirk had the opportunity to work as both a UH-60 Blackhawk pilot and MH/CH-47 Chinook Instructor Pilot. He experienced six deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Kirk also trained as the High-Altitude Rescue Team Lead Pilot supporting the National Park Service on Mount Denali in Alaska before retiring in 2019 and returning home to work for LifeFlight of Maine.
In the summer of 2019, Kirk began as a line pilot in Bangor, before stepping into his current position as the Chief Pilot in 2023.
Kirk has four children — three daughters, two of whom are nurses and one still in high school, and a son who is a Sergeant in the Maine Army National Guard and full-time contractor.
