Vernice Armour

"“I realized I could always be a cop,” she said. “But I didn’t always have the chance to be a combat pilot.”"

"“I only wanted to be in the Marine Corps,” she said. “For me, it was the toughest. It was the biggest challenge.”"

"“I said, ‘What? Are you serious?’”"

"“I said, ‘Dad, if I don’t do it, who will? At some point, somebody has to step up to pave the way for everyone to move forward,’”"

"I knew a lot would be riding on my shoulders,” Armour said. “I knew it would be hard. I knew there was a potential that there could be biases out there as well about whether women deserve to be in the Marine Corps, or combat and flying in that platform."

"There is friction all the time in different places,” Armour said. “Friction is natural. When I had friction with someone it could’ve been because I had short hair, I smiled in the morning, I could bench press more than them, I rode a motorcycle, or because I’m a woman, or because I’m black. But honestly, I didn’t care because my number one goal was to focus on the mission and be the best pilot I could be.”"

"I knew right then my life had changed,” Armour said. “We all knew we would be going somewhere - and soon.”"

"“It was so surreal because you’re not shooting at cardboard; you’re not shooting at tires and wood,” Armour said. “There were people on the ground, trying to take us out of the sky to kill us. It was a huge reality check. All the training came into laser-sharp focus.”"

"“My number one goal was to be the best pilot I could be up there in the air to protect and serve my brothers and sisters on the ground,”"

"The Marine Corps prepared the platform for my purpose,”"

"While in ROTC, I saw a woman in a flight suit,” Armour said. “After that I became very interested in aviation.”"

"“Being a kid, I saw a Black woman in a flight suit, and I was like, ‘That’s cool, why didn’t I think of that?'” Armour said. “Go for the things you really want in life because tomorrow is not promised.”"

"“As Clarissa Pinkola Estes said, ‘We were made for these times,’ and that’s exactly how I feel with the perspective of being able to help organizations, people, my friends, my community navigate where we are,”"

"“Until we come face to face with what are we really doing and how do we transition into a new time, the same things are going to continue to happen,”"

"“We have to start with a conversation where we’re actually listening to each other, again, not fault, but how do we move forward into solutions,”"

"“One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,” Armour said. “We’re one, so how are we making a difference and making an impact?”"

"“Former police officer, former soldier, national guardsmen, Marine officer, diversity officer for headquarters Marine Corps, liaison to the Pentagon for diversity policy for the services,”"

"I didn't step into my first job planning to be America's first, or even joining the military to be the first. After I started the flight test the recruiter said, "Hey, did you know you are going to be the first black female pilot ever in the Marine Corps?""

"We were in the Jaff. We were taking out a building that was known to have munitions in it. We were out for a little over an hour. We got a call from the ground controller that said, "Hey, we have some Marines and soldiers pinned down north of the cemetery." At that point, acid bomb exploded in my stomach. Why? Because we had been out for a little less than an hour, so we only had 20 minutes of fuel and one missile left on our aircraft, because we'd already been taking out that target."

"I was at an event for young girls in STEM in Chicago. It was an Army Air Guard base, and I went into the flight equipment room, just to say hi. And there were these patches on the equipment table that had “FlyGirl” on them. And I said, “What?! Can I have one?” And they said, “Absolutely.”"

"“In my journey, I have learned that obstacles are opportunities. Acknowledge the obstacles and don't give them power.”"