Former Army pilot sues National Guard

ATLANTA - A former U.S. Army helicopter pilot that was fired from the Georgia National Guard filed a lawsuit Friday which accused four former commanders of sex discrimination. <br> <br> Heidi Jentoft filed the lawsuit in federal court on her last day of duty. <br> <br> ``I know this has happened before, and I am hoping by filing this suit something can be put into place to stop it,&#39;&#39; she said. <br> <br> The suit alleges Jentoft, the only female test pilot in the Army National Guard, was not given a $10,000 bonus that all other test pilots in her unit received. According to the suit, she got negative performance evaluations after complaining about the bonus. <br> <br> Before the bonus discrepancy, Jentoft&#39;s bosses had praised her flying skills and military bearing. She was promoted ahead of her peers and served as a flight instructor for four years. <br> <br> Jentoft was a major when she was fired. The suit lists as defendants Maj. Gen. David Poythress head of the Georgia National Guard Col. Dannis Livingston, Col. Jimmy Davis and Maj. Anthony Sutter. <br> <br> Lt. Col. Ken Baldowski, a spokesman for the Georgia National Guard, said officials had not seen the lawsuit. <br> <br> ``There is no one here who knew anything about this,&#39;&#39; he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. <br> <br> Army Col. Rich Lliteras, Jentoft&#39;s last active duty boss, was surprised Jentoft had received poor evaluations and had filed a lawsuit. She flew helicopters under his command for a year in the Sinai Desert as part of a peacekeeping force. <br> <br> ``Things had to really be bad for her to do that, because she was not the type to complain,&#39;&#39; Lliteras said. ``As far as I am concerned, she is one of the most qualified pilots I know. She is very technically oriented. She knew her Huey helicopter inside and out.&#39;&#39;