Shoot Like a Girl

by Mary Jennings Hegar

Overview: In Shoot like A Girl, Mary Jennings Hegar takes the reader for a rollercoaster ride as she recounts her journey through her military career—first in the USAF and then in the Air National Guard as a pilot. Often humorous, frequently thrilling and definitely inspiring, she presents the true story of what she achieved and what she sacrificed in order to protect her fellow airman and her country. As a three-tour veteran who flew combat search and rescue missions for the ANG, MJ earned the Purple Heart as well as the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor Device. But perhaps her most important challenge was the one she encountered on American soil—the fight to eliminate the military’s Ground Combat Exclusion Policy, which kept female armed service members from officially serving in combat roles despite their long-standing record of doing so with honor and success.

• MJ talks about several male authority figures who played pivotal roles in her childhood, early adulthood and her early military career. Some were encouraging, some weren’t. How do you effectively mentor someone who may be a different gender, race or religion from yourself?
• The author faced overt sexism from the group commander who automatically placed her career as secondary to that of her husband’s career, saying “Don’t you want to be a good wife to him?” as his only rationale. How would you respond to someone making such a statement about the importance of your career? As a commander, how do you balance giving advice based on your range of experiences as opposed to making assumptions because of the limits of your experience?
• MJ describes her civilian instructor pilot as “tough but fair.” However, another instructor constantly graded her low and then admitted it was because he didn’t believe in divorce (and she was in the middle of one) nor did he believe women should fly. How do personal beliefs affect your leadership style?
• Team work plays an important role in MJ’s success and that of her crew. What does it take to feel that level of trust and how can you inspire that level of trust in those around you?
• The one thing that MJ never mentions are female role models or even female peers. Why do you think she makes little mention of other women in the service?
• During her SERE training, MJ experiences a serious problem with her knee but toughs it out and earns the praise of her team. Then she realizes that failing to realize she needed help, she actually cost her team precious time. She describes it as a valuable lesson and said she’d spent “the rest of my career trying not to make that mistake again.” How do you determine when you’re demonstrating determination as opposed to costing yourself time or reputation by being stubborn?
• When MJ faced a deliberate action of sabotage from someone in her crew (who had stated he didn’t want to fly with a woman), it was less a case of being disappointed with him, but with those in her unit who didn’t stand up to his lies about her performing a sexual act. She states “After all, if this job made them a man and a woman did it just as well or better than them, what did that mean for them?” How as a commander do you instill pride in your unit but remove the need for that pride to be tied to gender?
• In an article for the ACLU, MJ stated, “if there is one thing I’ve learned about the differences between us all throughout my years of service, it’s this: putting the right person in the right job has very little to do with one’s gender, race, religion, or other demographic descriptor. It has everything to do with one’s heart, character, ability, determination and dedication.” Do you agree or disagree and why?