MSU Air Force ROTC cadets visited by Major General Leavitt

Wednesday night the Mississippi State University’s United States Air Force ROTC Detachment 425 hosted their annual Dining Out event with a handful of special guests. One of those guests was Major General Jeannie Leavitt.

Maj. Gen. Leavitt is a trailblazer in the USAF. She is the first female to become a fighter pilot and first female to command a combat fighter wing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from University of Texas and eventually a master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University.

She is also the inspiration for Marvel Comics superheroine Captain Marvel, who had her own movie in 2019.

Maj. Gen. Leavitt spoke to Detachment 425 and left them with knowledge on how to be great leaders and even better people. She spoke about core values, teamwork and grit.

“You know, it’s interesting because we come from all different backgrounds and with different upbringings, different values. When we join the Air Force, when we become part of this team, we adopt those core values as our own,” Maj. Gen. Leavitt said. “So from here on, we memorize them: integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do. It’s good to stop and take a moment to think about it. What do those really mean?”

The inspirational general gave examples of what integrity looks like, and it can be something as making sure everyone feels valued no matter their position or yours.

“Integrity, it means we do the right thing, no matter what. It doesn’t matter if anyone’s looking or not,” Maj. Gen. Leavitt said. “I’ll get the analogy from when you walk out to an airplane. As a pilot, many times I’ve walked out to my plane, and my crew chief standing there with forms, they salute me, I salute them, they hand off the forms. When they’re handing off those forms. I am putting 100 percent faith and confidence in them that they have done everything that is documented in the forms. I am literally putting my life in their hands. And so that’s why it’s so critical in what we do. That integrity is absolutely foundational to everything we do, that we do the right thing, whether anyone’s watching or not.”

While Maj. Gen. Leavitt spoke about the importance of core values, the one she spent the most