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Gail Harris makes history

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    First female captain of US Navy reflects on her groundbreaking career

  • Duration 5:58
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It's -- this -- raising numbers.

Details apprentice program to celebrate Black History Month and once again and joined by fox weekend.

Report -- important -- zone.

Harris Faulkner to bring you the story of a woman who just wouldn't take no for an answer should we tell regretting that we dance of that tune and play is it does have a -- he's got -- Vince and I just haven't we're gonna meet.

-- -- She grew up right across the river from us here in midtown Manhattan on the toughest streets of Newark, New Jersey.

But her parents taught her early on that if she could dream that she could make it happen.

So when she wanted to become an intelligence officer in the navy something that had never been done by a woman much less by a woman of color.

The navy never knew what hit it.

Yeah.

Well listen this where I spent in the first.

Fourteen years of my life.

I lived in -- neighborhood that was for what everybody had both parents and her father worked.

Anything that you would think -- a child raised in the suburbs did we did in the city of Newark, New Jersey.

I had the greatest parents in the world came to -- Harris.

My mother was my spiritual advisor and that she made sure that my brother sister and I went to church every Sunday and said I don't care what you end up believing as an adult -- you know go to Sunday school until he actually -- on illegal.

Dale's parents encouraged her to step out and take risks never letting the color for skin limit her possibilities I think the easiest way to think about as -- tennis for my second side.

Jump into the ring a life.

Get knocked down they drag me back clean up the blood -- philosophy in my ear and pushing back into the game.

Than our lovely little girl when it was raining that -- on our back porch and to me at least ten minutes were mountains.

Then I was seeing from the sound of music climb every mountain.

In -- these are my announced that I had to overcome to -- achieve my dream and that's and I looked at.

Growing up she loved to watch movies with her dad when she was only five this Saturday night movie just happened to beat.

Wing and a prayer starring the late Donald -- Yeah.

The aircraft carrier USS enterprise and -- one climatic seeing the character actor Domenici gave the intelligence briefing.

Our -- ships are hopelessly outnumbered.

I lol that was what it was my turn and my father and I think that's what I wanna do my guerrilla and he said this is America he can be whatever you want me.

And I just believe that I was given a glimpse of my future I didn't know it then but it was -- an -- knowing that that was when I was gonna do.

After college -- would get her chance.

But the navy wasn't so accommodating at first the only woman to graduate from her intelligence class she needed to figure out a way to quickly win the room.

The class advisor navy lieutenant who's going around asked in the -- in the class what type of plotting that they wanna go to to the guys -- fighter -- he kept ignoring me so I just.

Hey what about me what about me.

He looked at me -- said.

You I don't believe you belong in the navy let alone an aviation squadron and I always had a good sense of humor.

So I -- you could say whatever you want but everybody knows that black people are superior sexually.

And the guys in the classroom laughing so hard -- -- -- fill out of the chair and -- broke the ice.

And that since of humor which -- -- time and time again but it was her fierce intelligence that won her the respect from her pierce.

Often times to people who had the biggest resistance to me before -- showed up.

Became my biggest supporters.

I tell you can't sit there given intelligence -- to people who -- -- -- in harm's way.

They didn't care.

What color I want to have I was attractive -- finalist fan my uniform didn't look right.

They cared about looking -- now.

Locked in a Cold War with Russia for most of her career the information -- deciphered often meant the difference between life and death.

War and peace.

Think the military.

Is a call it.

It is -- calling this corny as it sounds that you want to protect the nation.

And my attitude.

Is I may not agree with what she's saying -- -- political views.

I will defend what my life.

You -- right to say when she retired after 28 years of service captain Gail Harris with the highest ranking woman in the US navy.

-- -- Nothing is impossible.

Your dream is waded into the country.

Well I always say to people.

That deep -- thing that you had that you'd like to do -- you think it's impossible.

That's a glimpse of your future I think what I would like.

For my legacy to be.

One team one fine.

In the workplace.

One team one fine.

It doesn't mean they're the -- -- as purple.

If they can do the job.

There on the team in the league team maybe given that we spent one new look at me and you see a black woman that you still -- work to do.

But if you look at me in this setting to -- a woman.

That you -- you need to be -- I think we're getting there but I think we're getting there.

One team one fight -- lot about.

A special thank you to the intrepid museum for letting us film some of the pictures that you saw captain -- that -- We could all use some of her gumption no doubt so you can catch her blogging these days she's told me on the foreign policy association web site.

And she has a book out it's called a woman's war reaching out to young people looking for career in intelligence.

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