Vernice Armour

Vernice "FlyGirl" Armour (born September 23, 1973) is a former United States Marine Corps officer who was the first African-American female naval aviator in the Marine Corps and the Marine Corps first black female combat pilot. She flew the AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopter in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and eventually served two tours in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Early life and education Armour was born in 1973 in Chicago, Illinois to Gaston Armour Jr. and Authurine Armour. After her parents divorced, Clarence Jackson married Authurine. Both her father and her stepfather had served in the military - Gaston Armour was a retired major in the U.S. Army Reserve, and Clarence Jackson was a former Marine Corps sergeant who served three tours in Vietnam. Her grandfather was a Montford Point Marine, the first African Americans to integrate the Marine Corps between 1942 and 1949.

Raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Armour graduated from Overton High School, where she was a member of the mathematics honor society, the National Honor Society, and class vice-president.

Commissioned a second lieutenant on December 12, 1998, Armour was sent to flight school at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas and later Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Earning her wings in July 2001, Armour was not only number one in her class of twelve, she was number one among the last two hundred graduates. She became the Marine Corps' first African-American female pilot.

Personal life Leaving the U.S. Marine Corps in June 2007, Armour began a career as a professional speaker and expert on creating breakthroughs in life.

Awards and decorations