FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Under a canopy of trees on the edge of a large field, soldiers from Bravo Battery are lying in a circle as they pore over targeting charts. Nearby, others are preparing howitzer cannons as helicopters swoop overhead. At the edge of the circle, the platoon leader watches as the field artillerymen go through a training exercise.
No one seems to notice the small knot of hair at the base of the lieutenant’s helmet, or that 1st Lt. Kelly Requa is the only woman on the field at Campbell’s Crossroads on the sprawling grounds of Fort Bragg.
By January 2016, the U.S. military must open all combat jobs to women or explain why any must remain closed. The Army in November officially began assigning female officers to lead the cannon platoons and plans to open other jobs, including those of crew members within the field artillery units.
Requa is one of at least eight female lieutenants who were brought into the 3rd Battalion of the 321st Field Artillery Regiment beginning late last year to lead the field artillery units. For now, she’s the only woman in her platoon. Later this spring, women will begin serving as crew members — soldiers who actually position the 4,000-pound cannons, zero in on targets and fire the rounds.
For the women, the integration means more pressure and scrutiny. For the men, it means more training in sexual-assault awareness and prevention, and more lectures on respect, team building and moral character.
“From a leadership perspective the biggest concern that we discussed was possible misconduct,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Valeriano, 3rd Battalion commander. “Introducing females into an all-male unit, at least for the initial piece of it, could lead to a spike in misconduct.”
Commanders, he said, were worried about sexual harassment and assault incidents as well as inappropriate consensual relationships as they moved women into the small artillery units. He said platoon members on deployment can be on duty for 24 hours straight, crowded together in the cab of a rocket launcher the size of a truck cab.
So far, he hasn’t seen any problems. It’s been “pretty impressive to see the women coming in and running circles around the men,” he said. “On overall strength, the males are stronger. But the females — endurance-wise and running — really made these guys take their game up a notch.”
Valeriano and other commanders met with the platoons before the women arrived to talk about team building and good moral character and let the men air any concerns.
“When I jump out of an airplane in the middle of the night and I land next to somebody else, I’ve got to trust them,” Col. Trevor Bredenkamp, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, said. “It doesn’t matter what gender they are.”
Requa, who just returned from Afghanistan, says there haven’t been any problems so far.
“They’re bigger than me,” she said of the men. “My main goal is just keeping up — meeting the standards. So, in PT (physical training), I keep up with the guys no problem. It seems to work out.
“When people think of artillery, the first thing they think of is the cannons,” Requa said. “The crews have to work seamlessly together. There’s a lot of moving — move location, shoot, move location, shoot. It’s fast-paced, and you get to shoot and blow things up.”
Army leaders play down suggestions that they have chosen top female candidates to ensure good early experiences.
“Every officer deserves a chance to be platoon leader. … That’s your obligation,” said Col. Stephen Smith, commander of the 18th Fires Brigade. “To me there’s no tryout period or a PT test. I don’t do that to the male soldiers. You come in, there’s an opening, and you go. I don’t say, well, you’re only 105 pounds, you don’t look like you would fit in.”
