Martha McSally

Martha E. McSally
Born	(1966-03-22) March 22, 1966 Warwick, Rhode Island, U.S.
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1988–2010
Rank	Colonel
Commands held	354th Fighter Squadron
Battles/wars	Operation Southern Watch Operation Allied Force Operation Enduring Freedom

Martha McSally (born March 22, 1966) is a retired United States Air Force Colonel. She was the first American woman to fly in combat since the 1991 lifting of the prohibition of women in combat, flying the A-10 over Iraq and Kuwait in support of Operation Southern Watch.^[1] She is the first woman to command a USAF fighter squadron, the 354th Fighter Squadron (354 FS) based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. After her military career, McSally ran twice as the Republican candidate for Arizona's 2nd congressional district (facing off against Ron Barber in both races): in 2012, where she lost in a close race;^[2] and in 2014. As of November 22, 2014, the results (McSally declared victory with a lead of 161 votes, less than one-tenth of one percent of all votes cast) must go to a recount due to the closeness of the race under Arizona law.

Early life

McSally was born in 1966^[3] in Warwick, Rhode Island, the youngest of five children. In 1978, her father, Bernard, a lawyer, died of a heart attack. Her mother, Eleanor, worked as a reading specialist to support the family.^[4]

Education

McSally with an A-10 Thunderbolt II

McSally graduated at the top of her class at St. Mary's Academy, Bayview in 1984.^[4] She earned an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy, graduating in 1988.^[4] She earned a Master's degree from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government following graduation from USAFA and then proceeded to pilot training.^[5] McSally was first in her class at the Air War College.

Military career

McSally earned her wings following graduation from Undergraduate Pilot Training at Laughlin AFB, Texas and was initially assigned to Laughlin as a First Assignment Instructor Pilot (FAIP) in the T-37 jet trainer. Following the repeal of the combat aircraft restriction for female pilots, McSally became the first woman in U.S. history to fly a combat aircraft into enemy territory when she flew into Iraq in support of the United Nations no-fly zone enforcement.^[4] She completed Lead-in Fighter Training (LIFT) in 1993.^[6]

McSally completed Replacement Training Unit for the A-10 Thunderbolt II at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, and was assigned to an operational A-10 squadron and was deployed to Kuwait in January 1995.^[1] During that deployment, she flew combat patrols over Iraq in support of Operation Southern Watch, enforcing the no-fly zone over southern Iraq.^[1] In 1999, she deployed to Europe in support of Operation Allied Force. McSally was selected as one of seven active duty Air Force officers for the Legislative Fellowship program, during which time she lived in Washington, D.C. and advised John Kyl on defense and foreign affairs policy.^[7]

Promoted to Major, she reported to Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2000 for a temporary assignment in support of Operation Southern Watch. Promoted below the zone to Lieutenant Colonel, she took command of the A-10 equipped 354th Fighter Squadron at Davis-Monthan AFB in July 2004, and was subsequently deployed to Afghanistan under Operation Enduring Freedom, where she employed weapons loaded on her A-10 in combat for the first time. In 2005, McSally and her squadron were awarded the David C. Shilling Award, given by the Air Force Association for the best aerospace contribution to national defense.^[7]

Lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense (McSally vs. Rumsfeld)

In a "60 Minutes" interview broadcast on CBS on January 20, 2002, she described the discrimination she experienced under the policy: "I have to sit in the back and at all times I must be escorted by a male ... [who], when questioned, is supposed to claim me as his wife," she said. "I can fly a single-seat aircraft in enemy territory, but [in Saudi Arabia] I can't drive a vehicle."^[10]

During this process, she was granted audience with several high level officials, including two Secretaries of Defense, William Cohen and Donald Rumsfeld, which was atypical of a service member of her comparatively junior rank and position, especially in light of her public protest. General Tommy Franks, then commander of the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), announced in 2002 that U.S. military servicewomen would no longer be required to wear the abaya, although they would be "encouraged" to do so as a show of respect for local customs. Commenting on the change, Central Command spokesman, Colonel Rick Thomas, said it was not made because of McSally's lawsuit, but had already been "under review" before the lawsuit was filed. News reports noted that McSally had been fighting for a change in the policy for seven years, and had filed the lawsuit after she had been threatened with a court martial if she did not comply and wear the abaya.^[11] Critics of the policy noted that while female military personnel had been required to wear the abaya, the situation was not the same for "women diplomats" of the U.S. Department of State assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, who were actually encouraged not to wear the abaya when they were involved in official business, "...because they are representing the United States." Embassy officials stated that, "...in their personal time, embassy employees can choose how to dress." According to these U.S. officials, "...the Saudi government does not require non-Muslim women to wear a dark robe known as an abaya.... The official guidance, issued by the Saudi Embassy in Washington, says that foreigners should dress conservatively but they are not required to wear the robe."^[12]

Eventually the U.S. Congress "approved legislation that prohibited anyone in the military from requiring or encouraging servicewomen to put on abayas in Saudi Arabia or to use taxpayers’ money to buy them."^[13]

Retirement

McSally has continued to speak out about gender relations in Saudi Arabia.^[14][15] McSally retired from active duty with 22 years of commissioned service in the U.S. Air Force on May 6, 2010. As of March 2011, she worked as a professor at the Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.^[16]

U.S. House campaigns

Candidate Martha McSally with Governor Jan Brewer at the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry's 2014 Legislative Forecast Luncheon in Phoenix

On February 9, 2012, McSally announced her candidacy for the special election for Arizona's 8th congressional district vacancy created by the resignation of Gabrielle Giffords. She was an unsuccessful candidate in the Republican nomination for the special election, losing to Republican nominee Jesse Kelly.^[17]

McSally then ran for and won the Republican nomination in the regular election for the district, which had been renumbered as the 2nd District. She faced incumbent Democrat Ron Barber and Libertarian nominee Anthony Powell in the November 2012 election.^[18] She was endorsed by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, United States Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Wholesalers, of Commerce, National Association of Home Builders and Associated Builders and Contractors.^[19]

The race was one of the closest in the nation. McSally led on election night by a few hundred votes, but the race was deemed too close to call due to a large number of provisional ballots. Barber eventually overtook McSally as more ballots were counted. By November 16, most of the outstanding ballots were in heavily Democratic precincts near Tucson. The Arizona Republic determined that as a result, McSally would not be able to pick up enough votes to overcome Barber's lead.^[20] By November 17, Barber's lead over McSally had grown to 1,400 votes. That day, the Associated Press determined that there weren't enough ballots outstanding for McSally to regain the lead, and called the race for Barber.^[21] She conceded the race later that morning.^[20]

McSally later declared her intention of running for the same seat in 2014. She won the June 3 primary against 2 other Republican opponents, taking nearly 70% of the vote.^[22]

Electoral history

Arizona's 8th congressional district special election, 2012

Arizona's 2nd congressional district, 2012

Arizona's 2nd congressional district, 2014 (Republican primary)

Arizona's 2nd congressional district, 2014 (General election)

Political positions

McSally has vowed to vote for repealing the Affordable Care Act.^[25] She also supports local control of education, stating that, “education for our kids should not be dictated by Washington bureaucrats but by local experts with parent involvement and rewards for excellence. Hard-earned middle-class-taxpayer money should not go to D.C. to strip funds off the top, then return to the states with conditions, paperwork and mandates resulting in cookie-cutter educational recipes."^[25][26]

McSally has stated her belief that women around the country are concerned with jobs, affordable healthcare, the future of social security, and education. She appeared on national television in October 2012 saying, "You want to talk about a war on women? Walk in my shoes down the streets of Kabul. Walk in my shoes down the streets of Riyadh; where women have to be covered up. Where they're stoned, where they’re honor killed if they’ve been raped, where they can’t drive and they can’t travel without the permission of a male relative. That’s a war on women."^[27]

With 100% of the votes counted, McSally had a 161 vote lead and declared victory on November 12, 2014, but due to the the fact that the margin of victory was less than 1%, an automatic recount is legally required in Arizona.^[28]

Personal life

McSally was married to Air Force officer Donald F. Henry from 1997 to 1999. The marriage was annulled.^[29] McSally is a triathlete.^[4]

References