The Army is about to get its first female Green Beret.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., made the announcement in a statement, calling the woman's graduation from the Special Forces Qualification Course "an important and hard-earned milestone."
"This achievement is a testament to this soldier's individual strength, courage and commitment, and also an important institutional milestone for U.S. Special Operations Command as it embraces the cultural change that will continue to make it the most successful and elite Special Operations Force in the world," Stefanik said.
Graduation will take place July 9, Military.com reported.
"Earning your Green Beret is no small feat, and this qualification is just the first step in a challenging and rewarding career," an unnamed senior Defense Department official told the news outlet.
"Our senior leaders are extremely proud of her as well as the entire graduating class and the highly professional instructors at the U.S. Army [John F. Kennedy] Special Warfare Center and School, who develop these world-class Green Berets."
In mid-June, the National Guard soldier finished the final requirement by making it through a culminating field exercise that drops candidates into a fictional, unconventional-warfare setting at Camp Mackall, North Carolina, the news outlet reported.
The soldier has not been identified.
"She excelled throughout the course and earned the respect of both her instructors and her peer group based on her demonstrated capabilities and performance; this achievement is just another one in the storied history of the Special Forces," an unnamed senior Army official told Military.com.
One woman had previously completed the qualification court in the 1980s but was denied the opportunity to graduate, the Army Times reported.
Army Special Forces is one of the last remaining male-only communities after former Defense Secretary Ashton Carter officially opened all jobs involving direct combat to women in late 2015, Military.com reported.
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