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No longer a boys club: Iowa National Guard sees 1st enlisted female infantry soldier

Taylor Patterson of Ankeny became the first female enlisted infantry soldier in the Iowa National Guard last month.

JOHNSTON, Iowa — After returning from basic training in September, Pfc. Taylor Patterson of Ankeny, Iowa, broke gender barriers and became the first female enlisted infantry solider in the Iowa National Guard.

Patterson, according to a news releases from the Iowa National Guard, joined the guard in June 2020 and enlisted in infantry. Now, she serves with Company C, 168th Infantry after successfully completing training.

The infantry, according to the National Guard, is the main land combat force and is responsible for defending the U.S. against any threat by land. Training for the infantry takes place in both the classroom and the field, and it requires a grueling 10 weeks and 3 days of basic training and 12 weeks of advanced individual training.

“There obviously were a lot of guys who didn’t think the females were able to do that, but … I am proving it to you,” Patterson said in the release.

All military operations and positions were not opened to women in the U.S. until January 2016. Many women have sought these newly available positions since then.

When the draft ended in 1973, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, women represented only 2% of enlisted forces and 8% of officer corps in the U.S. Women's presence in the military significantly increased since then, making up 16% of enlisted and 19% of officer corps in 2018. 

Patterson wasn't the first woman to enlist in Iowa's 11B Infantry, according to the news release. However, she was the first to have completed the 22-week training in Ft. Benning, Georgia.

Patterson, in the news release, said it was her support system at home and drill sergeants in infantry school that pushed her to succeed despite being a gender minority.

“The Iowa National Guard needs people who are willing and able to take on the challenge of serving in the infantry,” Maj. Gen. Ben Corell said in the release. "Pfc. Patterson is breaking barriers for others to follow."

Thinking about enlisting in the National Guard? Learn more about eligibility requirements and how to enlist here.

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