First Ever Female ‘Soldier of the Year’
Posted on November 5, 2010 by Katie in Lady Shooters, News
Wow! Women shooters are becoming more and more prevalent these days. We’ve pointed out how they have in the movies and television series, but we’re starting to see real women with firepower, too. In October, Sgt. Sherri Jo Gallagher of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit was named Solider of the Year, becoming the first woman to be awarded such an honor.
Check out this great article on Military.com, about her award:
1st Female Earns Soldier of the Year
October 26, 2010Army News Service|by Alexandra Hemmerly-Brown
WASHINGTON — For the first time since its inception nine years ago, a female Soldier has claimed the title of Soldier of the Year for 2010′s Best Warrior Competition. Sgt. Sherri Gallagher of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, who represented U.S. Training and Doctrine Command at Best Warrior, beat out 11 other competitors from the Army’s major commands. Gallagher, who is currently stationed at Fort Benning, Ga., is one of the top long-range rifle shooters in the country.
The title of Noncommissioned Officer of the Year went to Staff Sgt. Christopher McDougall, a military policeman stationed in Stuttgart, Germany, representing the National Capital Region in the competition.
Best Warrior, which was held at Fort Lee, Va., Oct. 17-22, is backed by Sgt. Maj. Of the Army Kenneth O. Preston, and is a multi-faceted test of Soldiery. Events in this year’s competition included hand-to-hand combat, urban orienteering, detainee operations, casualty evaluation, weapons familiarization and night firing.
Read the full story here.
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I don’t doubt she’s a great shot and a terrific human being worthy of commendation… but she’s at home doing marksmanship competitions while her fellow troopers are in the shadowy valleys of Afghanistan getting shot at (some for the entirety of the same calendar year) and she’s the one winning “soldier of the year”? What’s wrong with this picture?
Yet again, the U.S. military seems to be wandering and lost… and the non’ers are still at home getting the accolades.
BJ — selection for this award was by competition – a tough all day long five day in a row competition. She won the competition. She also won Camp Perry this year.
If you do a little reading about her, like I just did — she says her goal for next year is to become a better instructor. She just proved that she has outstanding all around soldier skills, won a top (the top?) long distance shooting contest, and her focus isn’t sponsorships or cashing in — it is training the troops.
If she was a civilian she could make a buck on her accomplishments. Take a look at E-5 pay (that she only got promoted to after winning these competitions!). Look up what the Army Marksmanship Unit mission is — I bet she’d be glad to deploy, and I bet the Army kills more bad guys by using someone like her to develop future tools and train new warfighters, which is what she’s doing.