Mary Jennings Hegar is an American politician, United States Air Force veteran, and teacher. She is married to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and has a daughter and son-in-law, both of whom have served in the Air Force. In July 2017, she announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for United States House of Representatives to Texas’s 31st congressional district. In 2012 she sued the U.S. Air Force to remove the Combat Exclusion Policy.
About MJ Hegar in brief
Mary Jennings Hegar (born March 16, 1976) is an American politician, United States Air Force veteran, and teacher. In July 2017, she announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for United States House of Representatives to Texas’s 31st congressional district. She was the Democratic nominee in the 2020 United States Senate election in Texas, losing to incumbent Republican John Cornyn, 54% to 44%. 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 March 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. She is married to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and has a daughter and son-in-law, both of whom have served in the Air Force. She has a brother and a sister who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a niece and nephew who are both serving in the Army National Guard.
She also has a son who is a high school football coach and a brother who is an assistant football coach at Texas A&M University. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1999 with a BA in criminology, sociology, philosophy, and world religions. In 2016 she received an Executive MBA, also from the university. In December 1999, Hegar was commissioned into the United States air force through ROTC. 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 a helicopter pilot. On July 29, 2009, she 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. Her actions on this mission earned her the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor Device.
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