While Veterans Day shouldn’t be the only day we honor those who serve the country, it’s a great reminder and opportunity to regularly commemorate the men and women who defend our rights. Every veteran deserves to be recognized and celebrated, and one badass woman we can all appreciate is Tammy Duckworth — newly minted Illinois senator and former Black Hawk helicopter pilot for the Illinois Army National Guard.

Duckworth secured her Democratic seat in the Senate after winning 50% of the Midwestern state's vote Tuesday night. It’s the same seat Obama held, and it stands for triple progress. Duckworth, a female minority, is disabled after having lost both of her legs in war. She was the first woman with a disability to have earned a spot in the U.S. House of Representatives as well as the first member of Congress to have been born in Thailand. She’s a staunch supporter of closing the gender pay gap.

Before all of this, the Purple Heart award winner was fighting in Iraq. Deployed in 2004, Duckworth was one of the first army women to fly combat missions in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Tragically, her helicopter was struck by an RPG almost exactly 12 years ago, on November 12, 2004, causing her to lose her legs and some use of her right arm. While recovering, she advocated for the care of soldiers and injured vets to Congress.

She went on to become the Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs. In this role, she launched a 24/7 veterans crisis hotline and worked to amend veterans’ housing and healthcare.

As senator, Duckworth is assuming those “on the other side of the aisle” love this country as much as she, and she’ll focus her efforts on improved policies and “fight for working people.”

As Duckworth said in a tweet, the faith of her voters was not misplaced.

Despite other election results, the senator’s rise signifies all-around advancement for women. As of December 2015, all military combat roles were opened to females by the United States Department of Defense. In August, two women were the first to pass the Army’s Ranger School, an exhaustive and unremitting combat training program.

"Each Ranger School graduate has shown the physical and mental toughness to successfully lead organizations at any level," Army Secretary John McHugh said in a statement at the time. "This course has proven that every soldier, regardless of gender, can achieve his or her full potential."

Damn right, she can.

Related: Tammy Duckworth Just Became Senator in Illinois