"What exactly did she think the risk would be as a female air force pilot in the AAF?"
semperfubar,
Yep, gutsy move. But where there's risk there can be rewards. She's pretty high profile with her plan. Maybe Chairman Barack will come to her rescue with asylum...maybe not.
She's been at it for a while now:
http://www.shughal.com/meet-niloofar...the-air-force/