First female Idaho National Guard artillery officer paves way for others [Image 2 of 2]

BOISE, ID, UNITED STATES

06.24.2022

Photo by Master Sgt. Becky Vanshur 

Idaho Army National Guard

1st Lt. Abigail Cannon is the first female field artillery officer in the Idaho Army National Guard, paving the way for other females who join behind her. Cannon has only been in the position for nearly eight months, after commissioning into the artillery as the fire support officer for the 1st Battalion of the 148th Field Artillery Regiment. Cannon’s first field training exercise as the fire support officer was in June during African Lion ’22, a multinational, combined joint exercise conducted in Morocco comprising of roughly 8,000 troops from the U.S., Ghana, Senegal and Tunisia. Cannon was responsible for directing the daily shooting missions of the five M109A6 howitzers that the Idaho National Guard brought for the two-week exercise in Morocco. She worked hand-in-hand with the Moroccan fire support officer and together they targeted simultaneous live-fire missions.

In 2015, certain combat positions at the battalion level were still closed to females. By January 2016, the U.S. military opened all combat roles to women, including field artillery. Cannon joined the Idaho National Guard in 2015 after finishing high school in Idaho Falls, and enrolled in the Boise State University Army ROTC program. After completing ROTC in 2020, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology with a minor in military science. Following the BSU program, she attended the Field Artillery Basic Officers Leadership Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, graduating on the commandant’s list in the top 20 percent of her class. She then came back to Idaho to make history as the state’s first female artillery officer. (U.S. National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Becky Vanshur)

• Date Taken: 06.24.2022
• Date Posted: 07.25.2022 17:44
• Photo ID: 7334655
• VIRIN: 220624-Z-AY311-1210
• Resolution: 2700x1802
• Size: 2.44 MB
• Location: BOISE, ID, US