In this episode, I sit down with Captain Tammie Jo Shults — one of the first women to fly Navy tactical jets, longtime Southwest Airlines captain, and author of Nerves of Steel.
Tammie Jo is best known for her extraordinary leadership on Southwest Flight 1380, but as she shares in this conversation, her story is about much more than one day in the cockpit. It’s about the obstacles she faced along the way, the resilience she built, and the way her faith, perseverance, and preparation equipped her for the moment the world was watching.
We talk about:
- 🚫 Being told “girls can’t fly” — and proving them wrong
- ✈️ Breaking barriers in Navy aviation in the 1980s
- 💪 Facing cultural and institutional challenges in both military and airline cockpits
- 📝 Why journaling matters and how it shaped her memoir, Nerves of Steel
- 🧭 How true stories and past experiences shaped her decision-making on Flight 1380
- ❤️ The role of faith, family, and community in sustaining her through adversity
This is a conversation about resilience, truth, and the power of persistence — one that will inspire anyone navigating obstacles in their own path.
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Thanks so much for listening!
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Blue skies, happy reading, and happy listening!
-Liz Booker
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