Hell Cats en Hell Cats is a veteran-led podcast hosted by Marine Corps veteran Maura Sullivan and Navy veteran Rebecca Bennett. Each week, Maura and Rebecca sit down with women who have served their country—in uniform and beyond—to explore leadership, military service, family, public service, and the challenges facing America today. Through candid conversations with veterans, military leaders, journalists, historians, and changemakers, Hell Cats shines a light on voices too often overlooked in conversations about national security and civic leadership. The show’s name honors the “Lady Hell Cats,” some of the first women to serve in the United States Marine Corps more than a century ago. At a time when women were told they couldn’t serve, they stepped forward anyway, helping open doors for generations who followed. Now, at a moment when the contributions of women in uniform are once again being questioned, Hell Cats creates space for those women to tell their own stories—in their own words. Produced by VALOR Media Network in partnership with Meidas Defense, Hell Cats is available wherever you get your podcasts. Editorial Note Hell Cats is an independent production of VALOR Media Network created for journalistic, educational, and public-interest purposes. VALOR Media Network exercises sole editorial control over the program’s content, production, and distribution. While some hosts and guests may be candidates for public office, Hell Cats is not produced by, authorized by, requested by, or coordinated with any political campaign or candidate committee. Participation in the program does not constitute an endorsement by VALOR Media Network. https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/b1ff6ffe-73fb-11f1-93c9-67396fa5d01a/image/209910a4326e8aa0a85229d685b3ddf0.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress Hell Cats episodic VALOR Media Network Hell Cats is a veteran-led podcast hosted by Marine Corps veteran Maura Sullivan and Navy veteran Rebecca Bennett. Each week, Maura and Rebecca sit down with women who have served their country—in uniform and beyond—to explore leadership, military service, family, public service, and the challenges facing America today. Through candid conversations with veterans, military leaders, journalists, historians, and changemakers, Hell Cats shines a light on voices too often overlooked in conversations about national security and civic leadership. The show’s name honors the “Lady Hell Cats,” some of the first women to serve in the United States Marine Corps more than a century ago. At a time when women were told they couldn’t serve, they stepped forward anyway, helping open doors for generations who followed. Now, at a moment when the contributions of women in uniform are once again being questioned, Hell Cats creates space for those women to tell their own stories—in their own words. Produced by VALOR Media Network in partnership with Meidas Defense, Hell Cats is available wherever you get your podcasts. Editorial Note Hell Cats is an independent production of VALOR Media Network created for journalistic, educational, and public-interest purposes. VALOR Media Network exercises sole editorial control over the program’s content, production, and distribution. While some hosts and guests may be candidates for public office, Hell Cats is not produced by, authorized by, requested by, or coordinated with any political campaign or candidate committee. Participation in the program does not constitute an endorsement by VALOR Media Network. Hell Cats is a veteran-led podcast hosted by Marine Corps veteran Maura Sullivan and Navy veteran Rebecca Bennett.

Each week, Maura and Rebecca sit down with women who have served their country—in uniform and beyond—to explore leadership, military service, family, public service, and the challenges facing America today. Through candid conversations with veterans, military leaders, journalists, historians, and changemakers, Hell Cats shines a light on voices too often overlooked in conversations about national security and civic leadership.

The show’s name honors the “Lady Hell Cats,” some of the first women to serve in the United States Marine Corps more than a century ago. At a time when women were told they couldn’t serve, they stepped forward anyway, helping open doors for generations who followed.

Now, at a moment when the contributions of women in uniform are once again being questioned, Hell Cats creates space for those women to tell their own stories—in their own words.

Produced by VALOR Media Network in partnership with Meidas Defense, Hell Cats is available wherever you get your podcasts.

Editorial Note

Hell Cats is an independent production of VALOR Media Network created for journalistic, educational, and public-interest purposes.

VALOR Media Network exercises sole editorial control over the program’s content, production, and distribution. While some hosts and guests may be candidates for public office, Hell Cats is not produced by, authorized by, requested by, or coordinated with any political campaign or candidate committee. Participation in the program does not constitute an endorsement by VALOR Media Network.

]]> VALOR Media Network info@valormedianetwork.com The 18th Woman to Fly as a Navy Test Pilot: Rebecca Bennett's Story Welcome back to Hell Cats. This week, the roles reverse. Maura sits down with her co-host, Rebecca Bennett, to trace her journey — from growing up in small-town Texas, to choosing Navy ROTC and the hardest engineering program she could find, to flying helicopters through the Strait of Hormuz, to becoming the eighteenth woman to qualify as a U.S. Navy test pilot. Along the way, they talk about why women's voices belong in equipment and policy decisions, what it takes to land a helicopter on a ship at night, and the disorienting work of building a life of service after leaving the military. Look for more conversations ahead about the experiences, leadership, and service of women veterans. Fri, 03 Jul 2026 20:15:00 -0000 full VALOR Media Network Welcome back to Hell Cats. This week, the roles reverse. Maura sits down with her co-host, Rebecca Bennett, to trace her journey — from growing up in small-town Texas, to choosing Navy ROTC and the hardest engineering program she could find, to flying helicopters through the Strait of Hormuz, to becoming the eighteenth woman to qualify as a U.S. Navy test pilot. Along the way, they talk about why women's voices belong in equipment and policy decisions, what it takes to land a helicopter on a ship at night, and the disorienting work of building a life of service after leaving the military. Look for more conversations ahead about the experiences, leadership, and service of women veterans. Welcome back to Hell Cats.


This week, the roles reverse. Maura sits down with her co-host, Rebecca Bennett, to trace her journey — from growing up in small-town Texas, to choosing Navy ROTC and the hardest engineering program she could find, to flying helicopters through the Strait of Hormuz, to becoming the eighteenth woman to qualify as a U.S. Navy test pilot. Along the way, they talk about why women's voices belong in equipment and policy decisions, what it takes to land a helicopter on a ship at night, and the disorienting work of building a life of service after leaving the military.


Look for more conversations ahead about the experiences, leadership, and service of women veterans.

]]> 2238 You Can’t Be What You Can’t See: Maura Sullivan’s Story Most Americans don't picture women like Maura Sullivan and Rebecca Bennett when they picture a military veteran. Hell Cats exists to change that. In this premiere, two women veterans whose lives have run on strikingly parallel tracks — a Marine and a Navy helicopter pilot, both ROTC, both deployed, both moms — start telling the stories of women who served, led, and kept serving long after they left the uniform. The two go back further in spirit than in time: "We've had parallel lives, basically," Rebecca says — same ROTC start, same path into the military, same MBAs, same young kids at home. The first time they really compared notes, Maura's reaction said it all: "How did we not meet earlier?" This first conversation digs into Maura's journey — from a public-school kid who'd never seen a woman in the military, to a Marine officer who volunteered to deploy to Fallujah, to a presidential appointee fighting to fix veterans' health care, and beyond — with Rebecca pulling the thread as someone who's walked the same road. Tue, 30 Jun 2026 13:36:00 -0000 full VALOR Media Network Most Americans don't picture women like Maura Sullivan and Rebecca Bennett when they picture a military veteran. Hell Cats exists to change that. In this premiere, two women veterans whose lives have run on strikingly parallel tracks — a Marine and a Navy helicopter pilot, both ROTC, both deployed, both moms — start telling the stories of women who served, led, and kept serving long after they left the uniform. The two go back further in spirit than in time: "We've had parallel lives, basically," Rebecca says — same ROTC start, same path into the military, same MBAs, same young kids at home. The first time they really compared notes, Maura's reaction said it all: "How did we not meet earlier?" This first conversation digs into Maura's journey — from a public-school kid who'd never seen a woman in the military, to a Marine officer who volunteered to deploy to Fallujah, to a presidential appointee fighting to fix veterans' health care, and beyond — with Rebecca pulling the thread as someone who's walked the same road. Most Americans don't picture women like Maura Sullivan and Rebecca Bennett when they picture a military veteran. Hell Cats exists to change that. In this premiere, two women veterans whose lives have run on strikingly parallel tracks — a Marine and a Navy helicopter pilot, both ROTC, both deployed, both moms — start telling the stories of women who served, led, and kept serving long after they left the uniform.

The two go back further in spirit than in time: "We've had parallel lives, basically," Rebecca says — same ROTC start, same path into the military, same MBAs, same young kids at home. The first time they really compared notes, Maura's reaction said it all: "How did we not meet earlier?" This first conversation digs into Maura's journey — from a public-school kid who'd never seen a woman in the military, to a Marine officer who volunteered to deploy to Fallujah, to a presidential appointee fighting to fix veterans' health care, and beyond — with Rebecca pulling the thread as someone who's walked the same road.


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