Vernice Armour

{{Infobox military person

| name = Vernice Armour

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1973}}

| death_date =

| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

| death_place =

| placeofburial =

| placeofburial_label = Place of burial

| image = VerniceArmour 20060130 cropped.jpg

| caption = Armour in January 2006

| image_size =

| allegiance = {{flagu|United States|1960|size=23px}}

| branch = {{Marines|United States|size=23px}}

| serviceyears = 1993–2007

| rank = {{Dodseal|USMCO3|25}} Captain

| commands =

| unit = HMLA-169

| battles =

| awards = File:Air Medal ribbon.svg Air Medal
File:Navy and Marine Corps Commendation ribbon.svg Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal
File:Navy and Marine Corps Achievement ribbon.svg Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
File:United States Navy Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg Presidential Unit Citation
File:National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg National Defense Service Medal
File:Iraq Campaign Medal ribbon.svg Iraq Campaign Medal
File:Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary ribbon.svg Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
File:Global War on Terrorism Service ribbon.svg Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
File:Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.svg Sea Service Deployment Ribbon

| laterwork = Zero to Breakthrough(TM) Expert, professional keynote speaker, law enforcement officer

| relations = Gaston C. Armour Jr. (Father, Army)
Clarence Jackson (Step-father, Marine Corps)
Authurine Jackson (mother)

}}

Vernice "FlyGirl" Armour (born 1973) is a former United States Marine Corps officer who was the first African-American female naval aviator in the Marine Corps and the America's 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.{{cite web | title = Biography - Vernice Armour | url = http://www.vernicearmour.com/vernice-armour.htm | access-date = 2007-10-06}}

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.{{cite web

|author = Williams, Lance Cpl. Sha'ahn

|title = First Black female pilot honored in memory of Bessie Coleman

|work = Quantico Sentry OnLine

|url = http://www.quantico.usmc.mil/Sentry/StoryView.aspx?SID=416

|date = Aug 17, 2006

|access-date = 2007-10-06

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080917051333/http://www.quantico.usmc.mil/Sentry/StoryView.aspx?SID=416

|archive-date = 2008-09-17

|url-status = dead

}}

Her grandfather was a Montford Point Marine, the first African Americans to integrate the Marine Corps between 1942 and 1949.{{cite web

| title = Vernice Armour

| work = Tavis Smiley - Late Night on PBS

| publisher = PBS

| url = https://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200707/20070723_armour.html

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071105185339/http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200707/20070723_armour.html

| url-status = dead

| archive-date = November 5, 2007

| date = July 23, 2007

| access-date = 2007-10-06

}}

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.

Career

File:VerniceArmourStephanieWilson.jpg receiving award from the Bessie Coleman Foundation]]

In 1993, while a student at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), Armour enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve and later entered into the U.S. Army's ROTC.

In 1996, she took time off from college to become a Nashville police officer (her childhood dream). She became the first female African-American on the motorcycle squad.

Armour graduated from MTSU in 1997. In 1998, Armour became the first African American female to serve as a police officer in Tempe, Arizona before joining the U.S. Marines as an Officer Candidate in October 1998.{{cite web |author=Walker, Nicole |date=April 14, 2003 |title=Vernice Armour, 1st black female combat pilot, serves in Persian Gulf as family copes |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_16_103/ai_100111398 |access-date=2007-10-06 |work=Jet}}

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.

After flight school, Armour was assigned to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton near San Diego, California for training in the AH-1W SuperCobra. While at Camp Pendleton, she was named 2001 Camp Pendleton Female Athlete of the Year, twice won the Camp's annual Strongest Warrior Competition, and was a running back for the San Diego Sunfire women's football team.

In March 2003, she flew with HMLA-169 during the invasion of Iraq becoming America's first black female combat pilot. She completed two combat tours in the Gulf. Afterwards, she was assigned to the Manpower and Reserve Affairs Equal Opportunity Branch as program liaison officer.

{{cite news |title=Black Female Pilot Breaks Racial, Gender Barriers |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/05/30/136722559/black-female-pilot-breaks-racial-gender-barriers |work=NPR |date=May 27, 2011}}

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.

In 2011, her book Zero to Breakthrough: The 7-Step, Battle-Tested Method for Accomplishing Goals that Matter was published.{{cite book|url=https://www.amazon.com/Zero-Breakthrough-7-Step-Battle-Tested-Accomplishing/dp/B005ZO5LLE/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330446664&sr=1-1 |title=Zero to Breakthrough: The 7-Step, Battle-Tested Method for Accomplishing Goals that Matter: Vernice Armour: Amazon.com: Books |website=Amazon |date=28 April 2011 |publisher=Gotham |isbn=978-1-59240-624-1 |access-date=2014-06-16}}

Awards and decorations

style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"

| colspan="3"|220px

{{ribbon devices|number=0|other_device= |type=oak|ribbon=Air Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}22px21px20px20px

|{{Ribbon devices|ribbon=Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal ribbon with "V" device, 1st award.svg|width=106}}

|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Navy and Marine Corps Achievement ribbon.svg|width=106}}

{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=United States Navy Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|{{Ribbon devices|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon, 2nd award.svg|width=106}}

|{{Ribbon devices|ribbon=Iraq Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}

{{Ribbon devices|ribbon=Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|{{Ribbon devices|ribbon=Global War on Terrorism Service ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.svg|width=106}}

colspan="2"|140px

|colspan="1"|140px

class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
Badge \| colspan="3"\|Naval Aviator Badge
1st row \|Air Medal w/ 1 award star, Valor device, and Strike/Flight numeral "13" \|Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal w/ valor device \|Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
3rd row \|Navy Presidential Unit Citation w/ 1 service star \|National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 service star \|Iraq Campaign Medal
4th row \|Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal \|Global War on Terrorism Service Medal \|Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon w/ 1 service star
Badges \|colspan="2"\|Expert Rifle Badge \|colspan="1"\|Expert Pistol Badge

class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"

Badge

| colspan="3"|Naval Aviator Badge

1st row

|Air Medal w/ 1 award star, Valor device, and Strike/Flight numeral "13"

|Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal w/ valor device

|Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal

3rd row

|Navy Presidential Unit Citation w/ 1 service star

|National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 service star

|Iraq Campaign Medal

4th row