U.S . Air Force
Which employer did MJ Hegar work for from 2000 to 2007?
MJ Hegar Mary Jennings Hegar ( née von Stein ; born March 16 , 1976 ) is an American United States Air Force veteran and former political candidate . In 2012 , she sued the U.S . Air Force to remove the Combat Exclusion Policy . In 2017 , she published the memoir Shoot Like a Girl , which describes her service in Afghanistan . In July 2017 , Hegar announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for United States House of Representatives to Texass 31st congressional district . After winning the nomination , she lost to incumbent Republican John Carter by about 3% . She was the Democratic nominee in the 2020 United States Senate election in Texas , losing to incumbent Republican John Cornyn by ten percentage points . Early life and education . When Hegar was 7 years old , her mother , Grace , moved her and her sister from Fairfield , Connecticut , to Cedar Park , Texas . Hegar grew up in Cedar Park , where her mother remarried a Vietnam veteran , David Jennings , when she was 10 years old . Hegar was her high school class president , on the cheer squad , and played various sports , including soccer . In 1999 , Hegar received a BA from the University of Texas at Austin , where she studied criminology , sociology , philosophy , and world religions . While an undergraduate , she was Vice Wing Commander of Detachment 825 AFROTC and Deputy Commander of the Arnold Air Society . In 2015 , she graduated from Leadership Austin Essential Class . In 2016 she received an Executive MBA , also from the University of Texas at Austin . Career . Military . In December 1999 , Hegar was commissioned into the U.S . Air Force through ROTC at the University of Texas . From April 2000 to March 2004 , she served on active duty as an aircraft maintenance officer . Initially stationed at Misawa Air Base in Misawa , Aomori , Japan , she was later stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base near Knob Noster , Missouri . At Whiteman , Hegar worked on the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the B-2 Stealth Bomber . Her maintenance career culminated in responsibility for 75% of all B-2 maintenance as a Captain and selection as the Company Grade Officer of the Year for 2003 . In 2004 , the Air National Guard selected Hegar for pilot training . Upon completion of her training at the top of her class , she served two deployments to Afghanistan , flying Combat Search and Rescue on over 100 missions as well as Medevac missions as a helicopter pilot . As a member of the California Air National Guard , she worked as a pilot and trainer at the San Jose-based Counterdrug Task Force from 2007 to 2011 . In addition to the deployments to Afghanistan during the Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan , Hegar flew marijuana eradication missions , suppressed wildfires with buckets of water on cargo slings , performed pilot duties in evacuating survivors from hurricane-devastated cities , and rescued civilians on civil search and rescue missions in California and at sea . On July 29 , 2009 , on her third tour to Afghanistan , Hegar was shot down near Kandahar with a co-pilot on a combat search-and-rescue mission . She received shrapnel wounds in her arm and leg from Taliban ground fire , but her helicopter was able to rescue the soldiers it had been sent to help . Under further heavy fire , her helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing . Other U.S . Army helicopters rescued her , her team , and the other soldiers , but because the rescue helicopters were small and full , she and others had to fly out standing on the skids . Hegar was awarded the Purple Heart in December 2009 . Her actions on this mission earned her the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor Device , awarded in 2011 . She was one of the few women to receive this medal after Amelia Earhart . In 2016 , she described a 2007 mission to medevac a child in great detail in a TEDx Talks presentation . Due to the restriction of the Combat Exclusion Policy on women applying for ground combat positions , and because she was medically disqualified from flying due to a serious back injury sustained during the 2009 mission , Hegar transitioned out of the Air National Guard and became a Reservist Liaison . Other work . In 2010 , Hegar relocated to Austin and worked as a program manager at Seton Healthcare Family until 2015 . From 2015 to 2017 , she worked as a consultant at Dell Computers . Hegar has taught at the University of Texas at Austins McCombs School of Business and in the ROTC and womens studies departments . She has mentored cadets at UT and has served on the AFROTC Advisory Committee . Writing . In March 2017 , the Berkley Books imprint of Penguin Books published Hegars memoir , Shoot Like a Girl , in a new military division called Caliber . In 2016 , it was announced that the movie rights to the book had been optioned by TriStar Pictures , with Angelina Jolie reportedly in negotiations for the lead role . Politics . On July 6 , 2017 , Hegar announced that she would run for the Democratic nomination for U.S . Representative in Texass 31st congressional district . In May 2018 , she won the nomination . In June , Hegar released a short-form political ad , Doors , that described her military career , including being shot down in Afghanistan . The video went viral and drew the attention of celebrities like Lin-Manuel Miranda . In the November election she lost to Republican incumbent John Carter , who received 50.6% of the vote to her 47.6% ; it was Carters narrowest win in his nine elections to Congress . On April 23 , 2019 , Hegar announced that she was running for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 United States Senate election in Texas for the seat held by John Cornyn . She came in first in the March 3 , 2020 , primary with 22.37% of the vote , and won the July 14 runoff against Texas state Senator Royce West , who had received 14.7% of the primary vote . Hegars campaign received the endorsement of former president Barack Obama on September 25 , 2020 . Her campaign focused on her support for the Affordable Care Act ( Obamacare ) , protecting individuals with preexisting conditions , and creating a public health insurance option . Cornyn won the election , 54% to 44% . Occurring during 2020s historical high turnout , Hegars 4,888,764 votes was the most ever by a losing Senate candidate in either party and in any state . Combat Exclusion Policy . Shortly after the 2009 mission in which Hegar was wounded in Afghanistan , she was medically disqualified from flying . The militarys Combat Exclusion Policy automatically excluded her from applying for ground combat positions that would have moved her military career forward . She was barred from cross-training for a ground combat position ( such as a special tactics officer ) despite her expertise as a pilot , which had it not been for her gender would have been a next step . In 2012 , Hegar was the lead plaintiff alongside former U.S . Marine Corps Captain Zoe Bedell , U.S . Marine Corps First Lieutenant Colleen Farrell , U.S . Army Reserves Staff Sergeant Jennifer Hunt , and the Service Womens Action Network ( SWAN ) in a lawsuit against U.S . Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta asserting that the Combat Exclusion Policy was unconstitutional . Hegar said the suit was about military effectiveness and would give military commanders a larger pool of applicants . The lawsuit failed , but the policy , implemented in 1994 , was repealed in January 2013 . Personal life . In 2011 , Hegar married Brandon Hegar , whom she knew from high school . She and her family live in Round Rock , Texas , a suburb of Austin . She has two sons as well as stepchildren from her husbands previous marriage . Hegar has many tattoos , which were prominently featured in her 2018 viral campaign ad , Doors . She has said that the cherry blossom tattoo on her shoulder was a way to cover up shrapnel scar tissue , to take control and make the wounds beautiful . In her book , she mentions being sexually assaulted by an Air Force medic during a physical exam . The ad also discussed the domestic violence perpetrated by her father against her , her mother , and her sister during her adolescent years . Honors and awards . - 2008 : California Aviator of the Year - 2009 : Air Force Association , Outstanding Airmen of the Year - 2013 : Foreign Policy , The Leading Global Thinkers of 2013 – with Zoe Bedell , Colleen Farrell , and Jennifer Hunt - 2015 : Army Womens Foundation Hall of Fame , inductee - 2017 : Merrimack College , Honorary PhD of public affairs - 2018 : American Red Cross Metro New York North , Exceptional Service Award Works and publications . - – in response to retired Army Major General Robert H . Scales opinion piece of 6 Dec 2012 in The Washington Post Further reading . - – starts at 1:15 External links . - Hegar et al . v . Hagel at ACLU