First woman ever graduates from US army sniper school

‘This soldier had to volunteer several times to reach this goal, which is a demonstration of her dedication and commitment to service’

Snipers stand guard as US President Joe Biden arrives at Long Beach Airport in Long Beach, California on September 13, 2021 (AFP via Getty Images)

The first woman has made it through the seven-week course to graduate from the US army’s elite sniper school.

The female soldier, who joined Montana’s National Guard last December, has not been publicly identified.

The Montana National Guard said the soldier was sent to Fort Benning in Georgia where she completed a course lasting 22 weeks that included basic training and infantry skills.

When the One Station Unit Training staff noticed her stellar performance, including during shooting drills, she was recommended for Fort Benning’s sniper programme.

“We are extremely proud of this Soldier’s achievement and recognize that this is a milestone for not only Montana, but the entire National Guard and Army,” Major General Peter Hronek, who serves as the Montana adjutant general, said in a statement. “This soldier had to volunteer several times to reach this goal, which is a demonstration of her dedication and commitment to service.”

According to the army, the course is meant to turn the soldiers into “the most feared weapon on the battlefield” and “will test a student on fieldcraft, marksmanship, mission planning, advanced situational awareness, urban operations, complex engagements and building collective lethality to create an unfair fight in favour of the sniper team in support of offensive, defensive and stability operations for the United States Army”.

“She arrived prepared for training and physically conditioned to succeed. We are proud of the results of her efforts and the quality training provided by the Sniper Course Cadre. We wish her luck as she heads back to her unit as a US Army Sniper Course qualified sniper,” the sniper school’s battalion commander, Captain David Wright, said.

The soldier is the first woman to graduate from the sniper school since its start in 1987 and will now return to the Montana National Guard.

A company commander at Fort Benning, Captain Joshua O’Neill, said the soldier “epitomises what it means to be an infantry soldier” and that “there wasn’t a doubt in our minds that she would succeed in the US Army sniper course”.

Around 17 per cent of the 1.3 million active-duty military service members are women. The Army, Navy, and Air Force have around 70,000 women each in their ranks. The Marine Corps has around 16,000 women, Defence Department figures show.

Women have recently moved up the ranks to take on leading roles in the Department of Defense. The Deputy Secretary of Defence, Kathleen Hicks, is the first woman to serve in the role.

General Jacqueline Van Ovost became the second woman to head up a combatant command when she took over the leadership of Transportation Command last month. General Laura Richardson took the helm of Southern Command two weeks later. At this time, they are the only female four-star generals in the Defence Department.

“A Montana National Guard soldier has become the first woman in history to graduate from the challenging, intensive US Army Sniper Course,” Montana’s Republican Governor Greg Gianforte said on Tuesday. “What a remarkable feat for this soldier and incredible milestone reached for our US Armed Forces!”