LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenia's defense minister has appointed a female deputy chief of staff of the army for the first time in the small NATO and European Union member country.

Brigadier Alenka Ermenc, 54, was named to the post on Friday. The official STA news agency says it's the highest-ever post held by a woman in the Slovenian military.

The British-educated Ermenc has been picked by Slovenia's new army chief Alan Geder, who took over after his predecessor was sacked over poor results at a NATO test.

An army battlegroup last month failed in all but one of five areas in a NATO combat readiness assessment at a training facility near the southwestern town of Postojna.