Air Force Officer in Trouble Over Cap
Wed Aug 25, 8:02 AM ET             
TUCSON, Ariz. - Lt. Col. Martha McSally, the first female head of an Air Force fighter squadron, may have her head in the clouds - but it's her hat that has gotten her in trouble.

McSally, 38, wore a men's flight cap during her installation ceremony as head of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base's 354th Fighter Squadron in July. Wearing the men's cap, which runs straight across the forehead rather than angling down toward the eyebrows, is forbidden for women under U.S. Air Force rules.

McSally has tangled with military commanders over gender dress differences before. She previously sued the Pentagon (news - web sites) for forcing female troops to wear Muslim garb overseas.

She won the case accusing the Defense Department of discrimination for forcing her to wear the long, black cloak worn by Muslim women when traveling off-base in Saudi Arabia. The policy was reversed.

Senior Master Sgt. Jacqueline Dean, chief of the board which oversees the dress code, said the regulations updated in early July specifically ban women from wearing the men's flight cap.

But dress code violations are rarely punished unless they are chronic, officials said.
On Tuesday, when asked for a response from McSally, Davis-Monthan spokesman Capt. DeJon Redd said McSally was focused on leading her squadron and didn't want to address peripheral issues like the cap.