History of Martha McSally in Timeline

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Martha McSally is a former American politician and military pilot. She served Arizona in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. She began her career as an A-10 pilot in the U.S. Air Force, serving from 1988 to 2010. In 2004, she sued the Department of Defense over its policy that required female military personnel stationed in Saudi Arabia to wear abayas off base, and in 2001 she became the first American woman to fly in combat after the prohibition was lifted on women in combat following the Persian Gulf War, and later she commanded the 354th Fighter Squadron between 2004 and 2005. She retired from the Air Force in 2010 at the rank of Colonel. In 2012, she unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in Arizona's 2nd congressional district. Two years later, she successfully ran for and won the House seat in Arizona's second congressional district and served between 2015 and 2019. After losing reelection in 2018, she was appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John McCain, but she was then was appointed to fill the other Senate seat vacated by Jon Kyl's retirement. She served between 2019 and 2020, losing reelection to Mark Kelly. To date she is the last Republican to serve Arizona in the Senate.