Monday, January 27, 2014

'Arrowhead' lieutenant paves way for female Soldiers


Every generation has its pioneers, its trailblazers; persons who pave the way for the next generation. The Army is no exception. In the predominately male discipline of field artillery, there have been a few firsts for females. They have been female Fire Direction Officers in Mobile Launch Rocket System teams and High Mobility Artillery Rocket System crews before, but never have they been in a M777A1 Howitzer Cannon unit. That is until 2nd Lt. Taylor Cardosi arrived at 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. Cardosi, 22, a native of Stillwater, Mass., is a fire direction officer, or FDO, working in the 1st Battalion, 37th Artillery Regiment Battalion Fire Direction Center, and the first female to do so. We get fire missions from our battalion, which come from the maneuvers section," said Cardosi. "We process the data and send it to the guns."
Cardosi's appointment as FDO is hot on the heels of the Department of Defense's decision to eventually open all military jobs to females. However, while some positions remain closed as the Department of Defense works out details, the job of FDO opened up only days after Cardosi's entry into active duty, Dec. 27, 2012. "I was 100 percent surprised when I got here," said Cardosi. "I just showed up and I immediately went to the field." Guerard said his platoon was a little apprehensive at first because the idea of a female artilleryman was something new to them, but Cardosi's work ethic at Yakima Training Center, Wash., during the brigade's training exercise there in October, showed him and his Soldiers that there was no difference between Cardosi and her male counterparts. "She strives to do great things," Guerard said. "She's already setting herself apart from her peers. Absolutely there is no difference. She's just another one of the team." Read the rest of her story on the link below


Retrieved on 27 Jan 2014

http://www.army.mil/article/118817/_Arrowhead__lieutenant_paves_way_for_female_Soldiers/

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