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Sep 2024
29m 13s

Martha McSally

Liz Brunner
About this episode

Retired Air Force Colonel Martha McSally made history as the first woman in the United States to become a Top Gun fighter pilot. Her impressive military career was marked by incredible achievements, honors and awards, but she also endured harassment, abuse and assault by a senior officer. In this episode, Martha shares her journey of overcoming trauma and adversity by rising above all of her fears, facing them head on, and proving the Air Force wrong. When she was told no she couldn’t be a fighter pilot because she was a woman, that ignited a fire in her belly to make it happen. 

“...They told me, ‘You can't do this because you're a girl, and it is against the law.’ I never had been told that in my life….It was like, ‘Nope, I am a fighter pilot and I am going to will this into existence’…I kept the dream in my heart…I wouldn’t take ‘No’ for an answer. I refused to give up...”

Martha was deployed six times to the Middle East, and Afghanistan, flying more than 350 combat hours in an A-10 Warthog and earned the Bronze Star. Her book, "Dare to Fly: Simple Lessons in Never Giving Up" can be found on her website: www.marthamcsally.com. 

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Produced by Peoples Media

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