Amy McGrath, First Woman Marine to Fly an F-18 in Combat is Running for Office
Retired Marine Lt. Col. Amy McGrath has decided that she is not done serving her country. Earlier this month she announced that she will be running for the seat in Kentucky’s sixth congressional district against Republican incumbent Andy Barr. Barr has made no secret of his support for Mitch McConnell and a health care bill that would deal a devastating blow to so many Americans. The viral video that accompanied Amy’s announcement took aim directly at Barr and his support of the bill with the following statement:
“My mom is a polio survivor who became one of the first women to graduate from UK Medical School. A lot of people told her she couldn’t achieve her dreams either, but she persevered and ended up treating many of the same kind of people whose health care you and Mr. McConnell would take away.”
The ad also addressed her stellar military record, missions served, and her many overall accomplishments as a woman in combat. In response to why she’s running, Amy had this to say to NPR, “I felt like I had two choices: I could accept things the way they were, sort of politics as usual, or I could accept the responsibility for trying to change something, trying to do something. And this is my response.”
We are so inspired by Amy’s ad and her heroic time spent as a fighter pilot in the military as well as her convictions to change the face of politics in Kentucky as well as in Washington, D.C. On her site, she talks about what it was like to grow up aspiring to do something that women were not traditionally allowed to do.
“When I was a young girl growing up in Kentucky, I dreamed of being a fighter pilot. Women couldn‘t do that then. Women couldn‘t do a lot of things. But society changed, laws changed, and I was privileged to attend the Naval Academy. Four long, tough years later I was commissioned as an officer in the United States Marine Corps, and my dream to serve as an F/A-18 fighter pilot came true.”
Amy is a Smart Girl with an M.A. in International/Global Security from The Johns Hopkins University and has a graduate certificate in Legislative Studies from Georgetown University. She also has numerous awards for her service including: two Meritorious Service Medals, eight Strike Flight Air Medals, Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, two Afghan and one Iraq Campaign Medals. She’s also the mother of three children.
As a teenager, Amy wrote to members of Congress about the current federal law in the U.S. prohibiting women from serving in combat roles as well as published letters to the editor in her hometown newspapers demanding changes be made to remove these restrictions. After not receiving a reply from the Kentucky delegate (Mitch McConnell) she forged ahead, writing to every member of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. She received several responses including Rep. Patricia Schroeder of Colorado, who said “The object of a war is to win. We should, therefore, field the best-qualified military possible…I think that it is time for military service to be based on qualifications, not gender.”
Amy is no stranger to fighting for the rights of herself and others and that’s exactly what we need in this current political climate. We wish her all the best in her congressional run and if you’re looking for more info about her campaign, check it out here and watch her ad below!
