First woman joins Green Berets, makes Army history

“Thankfully after today, our Green Beret men and women will forever stand in the hearts of free people everywhere.”

Lt. Gen. Francis Beaudette, commander of Army Special Operations Command

A female soldier graduated from the Army’s elite Special Forces course, becoming the first woman to join a Green Beret team.

The unidentified woman received her Special Forces tab and donned her green beret at a socially distant graduation ceremony Thursday at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Army Special Operations Command said in a statement. She is one of about 400 graduates and one of three female soldiers going through the elite training.

“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,” said Lt. Gen. Francis Beaudette, commander of Army Special Operations Command who presided over the ceremony.

“Thankfully, after today, our Green Beret men and women will forever stand in the hearts of free people everywhere,” Beaudette said.

According to the statement, the Army does not release the identities of its service members “due to unique missions assigned upon graduation.”

Defense officials, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, confirmed that she is a member of the National Guard.

The female soldier “excelled throughout the course and earned the respect of both her instructors and her peer group,” an unnamed senior Army official told Military.com.

There are more than 6,700 Army Green Berets who typically work in 12person teams on specialized combat and counterterrorism operations. Many train other nations’ troops in battle skills.

Training consists of several phases, starting with a grueling assessment and selection process. The bulk of those who try out fail, but some who get injured or fail are allowed to try again.

One woman previously completed the requirements of the Army Special Forces Course before the U.S. military opened all combat jobs, including infantry units and special operations, to women, in late 2015.

Capt. Kate Wilder officially graduated from Special Forces training in 1981, The New York Times reported, but she was forced out by her superiors.

After an official investigation, she was sent her graduation certificate, but she never joined the Green Berets and left the Army as a lieutenant colonel in 2003.

“It isn’t important that I wear the hat,” she told The Associated Press after her graduation.

“I’m not at all hung up on a hat like a lot of the men are . ... What matters is that I’m officially qualified,” Wilder said.