Vernice Armour Quotes

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

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?

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

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.

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,

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,

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,

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,

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.

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.”

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?"

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

The Marine Corps prepared the platform for my purpose,”

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.