A female soldier is poised to become the first to graduate from the Army’s John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg and don the famed Green Beret.
Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, who’s on the House Armed Services Committee, issued a statement saying the woman had met all the qualifications and is expected to graduate July 9th. She congratulated the soon-to-be graduate on Twitter.
It’s official: the 1st female Green Beret is graduating the Army’s Special Forces Q-course! Important milestone & the first of many for & ! As the Ranking Member of IETC Subcommittee, it’s an honor to congratulate the 1st female Green Beret.
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik)
A spokesman for U.S. Special Operations Command said it doesn’t release information on students in the grueling course, which can take more than a year.
Stefanik called it not only a testament to the soldier’s strength, courage, and commitment, but an important institutional milestone for Special Operations Command as it embraces cultural change that will make it stronger.
Another female soldier, Captain Kate Wilder, finished Special Forces officers training in the 1980 but wasn’t allowed to graduate with her class.