Courtesy Photo | Staff Sgt. Jennifer M. Woolums, right, assigned to the 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry...... read more read more
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FORT STEWART, Ga. – Staff Sgt. Jennifer M. Woolums, assigned to the "Mustang Squadron," 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, was the first female infantry drill sergeant and first non-infantry military occupational specialty to be inducted as a Distinguished Member of the Regiment for the 58th Infantry Regiment in April 2021 at Fort Benning.
In 2015, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter opened all combat arms jobs to women. Then in 2016, the traditionally all-male infantry basic training unit known as Infantry One Station Unit Training on Sand Hill at Fort Benning, Georgia, received female drill sergeants from non-infantry specialties. Female trainees arrived in 2017 to form gender integrated basic training companies at Infantry OSUT with drill sergeants that were trained and ready.
Woolums arrived to Infantry OSUT, formally known as the 198th Infantry Brigade, as a sergeant with promotable status in the spring of 2018 with orders to be an infantry drill sergeant in the "Patriot Battalion," 2nd Battalion, 58th Infantry Regiment, 198th IN BDE – a gender-integrated battalion. She was a tactical generation specialist by trade and a native of Waukegan, Illinois. Because Woolums would soon be training infantry trainees, she had a lot to learn and a short amount of time to do it.
“It was challenging; I had to learn a lot of new things and I had to learn them quickly,” said Woolums. “I stepped up to the challenge and had phenomenal leadership to encourage me to get the most out of my experience. At the beginning I felt out of place, but it didn't take long to become part of the team.”
Woolums’ leadership quickly took notice of her. “Staff Sgt. Jennifer Woolums was the epitome of a professional noncommissioned officer. Regardless of the task, her willingness to execute at the highest levels of excellence continuously set her above her peers regardless of gender,” said Master Sgt. Justin M. Kline, Woolums’ former company first sergeant at Infantry OSUT in "Dog Company," Delta Company, 2nd Bn., 58th IR.
When asked about what it meant to be the first female DMOR inductee, Woolums responded, “It doesn't mean anything to me to be the first female. Being inducted as a DMOR was an honor for me as a Soldier and as a drill sergeant. To me it means I made a big enough difference in these Soldiers’ lives and in the organization.”
Only at the rank of sergeant, Woolums stepped up to become a senior drill sergeant of a basic trainee platoon – a position normally reserved for more senior noncommissioned officers such as a sergeant first class or senior staff sergeant. “Staff Sgt. Woolums set the bar high while performing her duties as a drill sergeant and set herself above most in our battalion,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Patrick L. Rivers Jr., senior enlisted advisor for the 2nd Bn., 58th IR, 198th IN BDE. “Because of her professionalism and drive for excellence, she performed the duties of a senior drill sergeant at the junior NCO rank of sergeant – a great accomplishment and an asset to any organization.”
The advice Woolums would give to any would-be female drill sergeant is “You are not a female drill sergeant; you are a drill sergeant.” She added, “[The infantry male drill sergeants] challenged me daily to be better, to know more, to not fall victim to the I’m a non-infantry female sergeant mentality. They treated me as an equal and proved to me that a drill, is a drill, is a drill.”
Woolums currently serves as the automotive section sergeant in "Maddawg Troop," Delta Forward Support Troop, 6th Sqn., 8th Cav. Regt., 2nd ABCT. She is happily married to a fellow service member in the same MOS, and they have a five-year-old son together.
| Date Taken: | 08.25.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 08.25.2021 01:55 |
| Story ID: | 403856 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GA, US |
| Hometown: | FORT MOORE, GA, US |
| Hometown: | WAUKEGAN, IL, US |
| Web Views: | 632 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 'A drill, is a drill, is a drill': Female noncommissioned officer makes history at Fort Benning, by CPT Sean Minton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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