Photo By Sgt. Anthony Ford | Staff Sgt. Katherine Barrett poses along with Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 12th Field...... read more read more
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“There were times where I was asleep and my section and I would have to run to the gun after taking fire,” recalls Staff Sgt. Katherine Barrett about a deployment she took to Syria. Barrett and her team made it home safe from that deployment, and now she has the chance to pass on the lessons she’s learned to a future generation of Soldiers.
Barrett currently serves as a small group leader at the Noncommissioned Officer Academy at Fort Stewart, Georgia. She was also the first female to serve as a cannon crewmember in the United States Army.
In 2015, combat arms jobs in the Army opened up for females. This same year, Barrett enlisted as the first female cannon crewmember.
As a cannon crewmember, Barrett learned how to operate howitzer cannons that support infantry and tank units during combat with long range artillery. During her training, Barrett earned the title of distinguished honor graduate and proceeded to her first duty station at Fort Carson, Colorado.
As a platoon sergeant during a combat deployment, Barrett was charged with keeping her Soldiers safe and developing their individual talents.
“After bringing our platoon back home safely,” she added, “we had our welcome home ceremony, and it was overwhelming, but it was a big sense of relief bringing everyone home to their families.”
For the Soldiers who served on Barrett’s team, she was someone who could always be relied on to get the mission done.
“Staff sergeant Barrett is a natural leader who is driven and focused while also being able to be compassionate,” said Sgt. Caleb Duncan, one of her former Soldiers who deployed with her to Syria.
Caleb added that she's technically and tactically proficient, as well as passionate and energetic, always leading from the front.
As a small group leader at the NCO Academy, Barrett now teaches other Soldiers how to also be noncommissioned officers and leaders.
The month of March is nationally recognized as Women's History Month. The history of women in the U.S. Military goes back all the way to the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. Though women could not not enlist, they still played important support roles for the military. Legislation formally allowing women to serve as permanent, regular members of the armed forces passed in 1948.
Today, women make up 16% of our nation’s Armed Forces, serving in every branch of the U.S. military. Their contributions and achievements make the Army stronger.
| Date Taken: | 03.29.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 03.30.2023 15:20 |
| Story ID: | 441471 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 717 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, The Army's first Female Cannon Crewmember Talks About her Service, by SGT Anthony Ford, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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