News & Commentary written by Major Mary Jennings Hegar

Major Mary Jennings Hegar served three tours over two deployments to Afghanistan, and trained as a California Air National Guard Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) pilot  after serving 5 years in the Air Force. She was awarded the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross with a Valor Device for heroism while participating in an aerial mission near Kandahar Airfield on July 29, 2009. She is currently a plaintiff in an ACLU lawsuit challenging the military’s policy excluding women from many combat positions.