Attention! First woman passes Army’s course to lead infantry troops

A FEMALE soldier is to command British Army infantry troops for the first time.

The soldier, who cannot be identified for security reasons, recently passed a tough course designed to select future leaders.

She is now qualified to command a section of eight soldiers and is set to transfer into a regular infantry battalion, an Army source confirmed last night. She is the first woman to successfully complete the Section Commanders’ Battle Course, which lasts 16 weeks and includes eight weeks of live firing on ranges and a tactics phase.

The course at the Infantry Battle School in the Brecon Beacons, South Wales, is designed to select the best Junior Non-Commissioned Officers to lead infantry soldiers in combat. Troops are tested in how to organise defensive positions and plan attacks, while being pushed to the limits of exhaustion on gruelling fitness tests.

The woman is understood to have passed all the tests to the same standards as her male counterparts.

Women officers have previously commanded troops on the front line in the Royal Engineers and Royal Artillery but not infantry soldiers, whose primary role is close combat on the battlefield.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson announced in October that all roles in the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, including infantry units, were to be opened to women.

But some former military figures remain sceptical about women in close-combat roles, saying that few have the same raw strength as men.