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 organization… - Vernice Armour

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.

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 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.”