Shoot Like a Girl by Mary Jennings Hegar

Despite being wounded, she fought the enemy and saved the lives of her crew and their patients. But at the time I kind of looked around, like, ‘Why isn’t anyone saying anything? I guess I will.’ And that’s been my whole life.On June 29, 2009, Air National Guard major Mary Jennings 'MJ' Hegar was shot down while on a Medevac mission on her third tour in Afghanistan. Later when I faced the backlash of speaking up, I realized why nobody did. “Yeah, I kind of looked around and I can’t understand why nobody else is speaking up. “That gets me into trouble a lot!” Megar laughed. King noted one scene in her book, after the crash, involving a briefing: “People are patting themselves on the back, you’re the only one in the meeting, M.J., that says basically, ‘Where the hell were you guys?’ Because you thought you’d been left stranded by another group. But then we have some leaders who turn a blind eye to things that contribute negatively to a really difficult culture for women,” she said. They’re doing a lot, more than they’re getting credit for. The vast majority of the messages that I receive are, ‘Please keep doing what you’re doing, you’re inspiring my daughter or you’re inspiring my son, you’re fighting for us.’ But there are some really determined people out there who see it very threatening that a woman can do these jobs.”ĭoes she think the military needs to do more? When asked to describe the backlash she experienced for speaking out in support of women in combat positions, Hegar said, “It was significant, but I think it’s a very vocal minority. It’s just something that you reflex-do, or you don’t.” “You know, I think that that’s not something you can choose to do. “Just a drive to protect people and to run toward the emergency when everybody else is running away,” Hegar explained. “What is a ‘warrior’s heart’?” asked Mason. Major Mary Jennings Hegar.Īppearing on “CBS This Morning” Monday, Hegar said she was inspired to be a pilot from a young age thanks to watching films like “The Perfect Storm,” which depicted off-shore helicopter rescues. Hegar discusses her battle in and out of the military in her book “Shoot Like a Girl” (Berkley).

That rule, the Combat Exclusion Policy, has since been reversed. “My gender has never been a factor in accomplishing my unit’s missions, and it should not be a factor when selecting personnel to serve in combat roles,” she said in 2012. She returned home and joined a lawsuit that barred women from joining ground combat positions.

She also became the second woman ever to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross for her valor and heroism.

Despite her wounds, she fought back and saved the lives of her crew and patients. Air Force helicopter pilot Major Mary Jennings Hegar and her crew were shot down by the Taliban in July 2009 during a rescue mission outside Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Shoot Like a Girl by Mary Jennings Hegar