TUCSON, Ariz. — A fighter pilot who made headlines for suing the Pentagon is about to become the Air Force’s first female fighter squadron commander.
Lt. Col. Martha McSally, 38, takes over this summer as new boss of the 354th Fighter Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.
The squadron, which has been in action in Iraq and Afghanistan, has 27 A/OA-10 attack jets and more than 60 pilots and crew members.
McSally is the first active-duty female officer to lead an Air Force fighter squadron. In 1994, she was the first female Air Force pilot to fly combat missions.
McSally successfully sued Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in 2001 over a policy that forced military women in Saudi Arabia to wear Muslim religious garb when off the base.
McSally argued that the practice was offensive to her as a Christian and was unnecessary because other women working in the Middle East nation, including U.S. Embassy staff members, were not forced to wear the long, black cloaks known as abayas.
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