A Green Beret First

Marp · ‎03-09-2010

FORT BRAGG, N.C. – U.S. Army Special Operations Command confirms the first female Soldier graduated on July 9, 2020 at a COVID-compliant graduation ceremony for the Special Forces Qualification Course.

Lt. Gen. Fran Beaudette, Commanding General for U.S. Army Special Operations Command who preceded over the graduation ceremony stated, “Each and every one of you demonstrated the ability to meet the baseline standards and competencies for admission to our Regiment.”

The first female Soldier received her Special Forces Tab and donned her Green Beret during this ceremony along-side her classmates.

“From here, you will go forward and join the storied formation of the Green Berets where you will do what you are trained to do: challenge assumptions, break down barriers, smash through stereotypes, innovate, and achieve the impossible,” Beaudette added. “Thankfully, after today, our Green Beret Men and Women will forever stand in the hearts of free people everywhere.”

It is our policy to not release the names of service members in training or assigned to U.S. Army Special Operations Command due to unique missions assigned upon graduation.

Please respect the decision of these Soldiers who enter into this profession by helping us protect their identity to the fullest extent.

For more information please contact the U.S. Army Special Operations Command Spokesman, Lt. Col. Loren Bymer, at loren.bymer@socom.mil or 910-432-3383.

The eyes through which you see others may be the same as how they see you.

Mz iMac · ‎07-26-2014

Talk about an all male network. It has taken 33 yrs for a female to qualify and/or pass their rigorous tests? Hard to believe.

Congrats to the unknown female.

"Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."

MorningLover · ‎10-04-2015

To become a Special Forces Soldier, known as a Green Beret, candidates must complete basic combat training, advanced individual training, and U.S. Army Airborne School. The rigorous Special Qualification Course consists of six phases lasting approximately 53 weeks.

The 24th Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida, confirmed that a woman completed a one week assessment and was selected to continue training as a Special Tactics Officer candidate.

Sheila P-Burg · ‎10-10-2019

@Marp ...... @Mz iMac

Great! Now I can't get the song "Ballad of the Green Berets" by Sgt. Barry Sadler out of my head.

I wonder how many females have tried to become Greern Berets.

Marp · ‎03-09-2010

@Mz iMac wrote:
Talk about an all male network. It has taken 33 yrs for a female to qualify and/or pass their rigorous tests? Hard to believe.

Congrats to the unknown female.

@Mz iMac, sort of. She is the first to graduate but ...

Only one woman had previously completed the Q Course, in the 1980s, but was not allowed to graduate.

A 1981 report later found that the soldier, Capt. Kathleen Wilder, was informed before her graduation that she had failed a field exercise. She filed a sex discrimination complaint, which concluded that she was wrongfully denied graduation from the program.

The eyes through which you see others may be the same as how they see you.

Kachina624 · ‎03-10-2010

@Mz iMac wrote:
Talk about an all male network. It has taken 33 yrs for a female to qualify and/or pass their rigorous tests? Hard to believe.

Congrats to the unknown female.

@Mz iMac This woman must be an Amazon. Have you ever seen a documentary on the training, the physical requirements, the lifting they must do? It's remarkable that big, muscular men can do it, let alone a woman.

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment

Mz iMac · ‎07-26-2014

@Kachina624 No I have not. But I did read up on their requirements & training. I was that a female could complete that training.

I thought the same as you did. She must be an Amazon, built like those female Russian Olympic disc throwers from the 60's.

"Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."

Porcelain · ‎02-19-2014

That's amazing! Good for her! Hardly any men could ever qualify for that and even fewer women. She must have trained so hard to accomplish that. And even then, she just must have the right body makeup and consititution to put her over the top. As well as the mental focus and stamina required. Rare and wonderful to find that all in one package. I'm really glad for her.

When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.
"Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

FiddleDeeDee · ‎03-06-2020

Congrats to her!! Anyone who can complete that training (male or female) deserves a standing ovation.

"Coming to ya from Florida"

Swedishmiss · ‎04-21-2010

Unpopular opinion here....but I just feel there are some things men do better, and being a Green Beret is one of them. Too often when standard requirements are modified or lowered when women compete in areas that require physical strength and endurance. If standards weren’t adjusted, there would be very few (if any) female marines, police officers, etc)