Today's "Grounded" inspiration is UAE's first female fighter pilot and the bane of ISIS.

  The very first female fighter pilot in the United Arab Emirate's air force is Maj. Mariam Al Mansouri, and she takes a special pride in not only being a squadron commander piloting an F-16, but in raining down bombs on the heads of ISIS.
   Major Al Mansouri is one of three women to graduate from flight school in 2008, and after training with the Air Force for 5 years, was given the chance to fulfill her life's dream at the helm of an F-16. 
   “It was my aspiration,” she told the National of the UAE in an interview. “Ever since I finished high school, I wanted to learn flying because it was something that I liked in the first place.” 

  United Arab Emirates is leading the Middle East in equality, pushing for more women to join the military, ministerial posts, Parliament, local government, and law.  Women are seen as a vital and necessary part of society, and as Al Mansouri eloquently states, “A woman’s passion about something will lead her to achieving what she aspires and that’s why she should pursue her interests.”
  After years of study, Al Mansouri took to the skies to bomb ISIS strongholds near Raqqa, Aleppo and Idlib, taking a deep sense of pride in her accomplishment, saying "The emblem on my shoulder is not a little thing. It's a great responsibility."   Knowing that a female fighter pilot is dropping bombs onto the heads of ISIS makes us want to stand up and cheer.   Well done, Major.  Well done.

​To read more about the amazing Major Al Mansouri, read this.  Or this. 

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