Story at a glance
- A woman sailor has successfully finished Naval Special Warfare training for the first time in history.
- The sailor is the first of 18 women who have ever trained to become an SWCC or Navy SEAL to succeed.
- The sailor completed the intense 37-week training to become the first female special warfare combatant-craft crewman.
A woman sailor has successfully finished Naval Special Warfare training for the first time in history, the Navy announced on Thursday.
The sailor, whom Navy officials won’t identify in accordance with military policy on special operations forces, completed the intense 37-week training to become the first female special warfare combatant-craft crewman (SWCC) — joining the ranks of boat operators “who insert and extract Navy SEALs from classified locations” and undertake classified missions.
This makes the sailor the first of 18 women who have ever trained to become an SWCC or Navy SEAL to succeed.
America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.
On average, only about 35 percent of SWCC candidates go on to graduate training, according to the Navy.
SWCC are expertly trained in covert insertion and extraction, handling weapons, navigation, first aid, parachuting, special operations tactics and more.
“Becoming the first female to graduate from a Naval Special Warfare training pipeline is an extraordinary accomplishment and we are incredibly proud of our teammate,” Rear Adm. H.W. Howard III, the commander of Naval Special Warfare, said in a press release. “Like her fellow operators, she demonstrated the character, cognitive and leadership attributes required to join our force.”
READ MORE STORIES FROM CHANGING AMERICA
SOCCER STAR MEGAN RAPINOE TAKES ON NBA STAR DRAYMOND GREEN OVER WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT
THESE 10 INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN SHOULD BE HOUSEHOLD NAMES—HERE’S WHY THEY ARE NOT
WHO SAYS ONE-THIRD OF ALL WOMEN ENCOUNTER PHYSICAL OR SEXUAL VIOLENCE
PARK POLICE TAPS FIRST BLACK FEMALE CHIEF
WOMEN OF COLOR ARE TIPPING THE BALANCE OF POWER IN U.S. CITIES
changing america copyright.
