Washington. 28 April, 2016. She was the first lady Ranger and today became the Army’s first female infantry officer. Capt. Kristen Griest has created history in US. She graduated from the Maneuver Captain’s Career Course .
“Like any other officer wishing to branch-transfer, Capt. Griest applied for an exception to Army policy to transfer from military police to infantry,” said Bob Purtiman, a spokesman for the Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning, Georgia. “Her transfer was approved by the Department of the Army [on Monday] and she’s now an infantry officer.”
The US Army earlier this month announced that it had approved requests from 22 female cadets to enter as second lieutenants in the infantry and armor branches. Thirteen of the new officers will enter into the armor branch, the other nine will go infantry. After commissioning, the new officers must successfully complete branch-specific training before they will qualify as infantry and armor officers.
The service also opened an eight-week application window for female lieutenants who want to branch-transfer into infantry and armor. Qualified female lieutenants in year groups 2014 and 2015 of the Army Competitive Category, with second lieutenant dates of rank of Oct. 1, 2013, or later, can apply.
