For Martha McSally, It's Trouble

The first woman to ever command a USAF fighter squadron may be in over her head -- at least where her hat is concerned.

It seems Lt. Col. Martha McSally, 38, wore a men's flight cap during her installation ceremony as head of the 354th Fighter Squadron last month at Davis-Monthan AFB in Phoenix (AZ).

That's not quite cricket, according to the Air Force.

You might recall that McSally has tangled with Air Force commanders in the past over what to wear. In fact, she accused the DoD of discrimination for forcing female soldiers to wear burkas while off-base in Saudi Arabia. McSally won. The policy was dropped.

An Air Force non-commissioned officer who overseas the dress code said the rules were changed early last month. SMSgt Jacquelin Dean told local reporters that the new rules absolutely prohibit women from wearing mens' flight caps.

When reporters asked for McSally's response to the new rule, a spokesman for the base, Capt. DeJon Redd, said McSally was busy with other things -- like commanding her new squadron -- and couldn't be bothered with something as trivial as the dress code.

FMI: www.af.mil