First woman army officer
WORK hard in whichever field you’re in and strive to be the best at what you do, says Margret Snow. Ms Snow was one of the first women to be recruited into the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) in 1988. It is understood she was first, and only female plant operator employed by the RFMF. “It was at a time when I had finished my Secretarial Studies from the Fiji Institute of Technology (FIT),” Ms
Snow said.
“After that we went looking for jobs but there were not too many jobs available.
“I grew up in Nauluvatu settlement and one of my neighbours, who was in the British Army, told me to apply to the RFMF when the advertisement came out in 1988.”
Ms Snow went through the eight weeks of training and chose to join the Engineering regiment.
“Initially I was placed in the Orderly Room where I worked as a clerk for the engineers regiment.
“Then my interest grew, and I wanted to do plant machinery which was one of the departments in the engineering department.
“I had so much interest in machinery because I loved driving.
“I asked to attend the plant operators course, where I was the only woman but I passed and topped that class.”
From there, Ms Snow started learning the mechanics of plant operating, machinery and so forth.
She already had an interest in machines given her father was a mechanic.
She said she noticed at that time that men were not receptive to the idea of women being part of the military.
“I liked the training, both physical and mental. “But at that time, I still saw within the military that men were not totally accepting of women recruits.
“We had a little bit of ups and downs but eventually they came to accept that women will be part of the military.”
Ms Snow was in the military for eight years before she left in 1996 to join the Fiji Police Force.
She spent four years with the police where she reached the rank of Sergeant.
She the left police in 2000, after the coup, and joined the Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) in 2001.
Four years into her work with RBF, she asked the RFMF if she could be deployed, along with a contingent leaving for peacekeeping duties in Iraq.
She was given a six months tour of duty with the RFMF Guard Unit.
After her deployment, Ms Snow returned to her work at the RBF, retiring in 2021.
Currently, Ms Snow is operating a small business from home which helps meet her financial needs.
But at that time, I still saw within the military that men were not totally accepting of women recruits. We had a little bit of ups and downs but eventually they came to accept that women will be part of the military. Margret Snow
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Adi Litia Tavavanua