Col. Merryl Tengesdal, USAF

Today's podcast was taped 4 weeks ago, and we saved it to launch this week in honor of Veterans dat. 

On this week show we speak to Merryl Tengesdal a retired career military officer who is the first and only Black woman to fly the United Sates Airforce's U-2 spy plane used for specialized high-altitude reconnaissance missions. She is one of five women and only the fourth Black person to be in the U-2 program. She shares the plane's nickname, The Dragon Lady.

Tengesdal is a military veteran, aviator, and commander who served in both the US Navy and the US Air Force. Tengesdal had also served in the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan, and served as Director of Inspections for The Air Force Inspector General from October 2015 through August 2017, retiring at the rank of United States Air Force Colonel.

Col. Tengesdal is a true hero and a formidable and accomplished woman. I really enjoyed our conversation and I think you will also.