This video will introduce you to the youngest female UH-60M Blackhawk combat pilot in the 34th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade. Her name is 1st Lt. Megan Skalla, and I think you will be truly impressed with this young woman.
1st Lt. Skalla is soft-spoken but clearly knows who she is and what she is here for. She is humble yet confident. She is very honest in her understanding of herself and why she chose to serve in the military.
You will hear that she is the first and only one of her family that has chosen to serve in uniform. She also talks about why she chose to go this route. She sees serving in the military as a way to help others instead of focusing on herself. Her humility is matched, I think you will see and hear here, by her intellect and the depth of her capacity for honest self-reflection.
Skalla is also a leader who knows what good leadership requires. You will hear her say that she believes that “if you take good care of your soldiers, they will take good care of you.” This simple wisdom transcends just military leadership; it is the kind of attitude that makes a leader in any profession both effective and successful.
This is the kind of leadership that not only gets things done but takes into consideration that which is right to do in all circumstances, the cares for the good of those who follow, that sees those who follow as the most important element of a successful unit or endeavor. It is this kind of leadership that makes those under a leader’s charge willing and able to follow them, even into the most difficult of situations.
As I listen to this young woman, I hear someone who is comfortable with herself, one who recognizes that everything is a gift, and one who understands and is willing to take on the demanding roles of leadership. She knows enough to give thanks to God for all the good that has happened to her and for the desire to serve and to help others. But she is also humble enough to know that she is still young, that she doesn’t “know everything.” She recognizes that she can learn a lot from her colleagues, her superiors, and her soldiers. This, to me, is the sign of the truest kind of leader.
Skalla joined the Minnesota National Guard six years ago. You can tell in her voice and in her words that she is excited about her job, that she really likes what she is doing. One can only imagine that this is recognized by her soldiers and her colleagues. I can imagine that those under her would do anything for her to make the unit a success.
Enjoy meeting 1st Lt. Megan Skalla here. We can be thankful that young people of this caliber of character are serving in our military. She is not only a technically proficient combat pilot but a leader of moral character far beyond her years. I think you will see in her the best that this country has to offer. Skalla represents the kind of leadership, the kind of moral character, that truly makes a society the best it can be.
We wish her every success in her military career and all that she does after that. Hooah!