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It was a proud moment for the Texas Army National Guard's 3rd
Battalion 136th Regional Training Institute when Army Sgt. Kayci
Landes, walked across the stage as the U.S. Army's first female
cavalry scout November 17, 2016, during a graduation ceremony held
at Fort Hood.
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November 17, 2016 - U.S. Army Sgt. Kayci Landes, with the 1st
Cavalry Division, stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, with her family
after her graduation as the first female cavalry scout. Texas Army
National Guard's 3rd Battalion 136th Regional Training Institute
trained and graduated Landes during a rigorous 20-day course at Fort
Hood. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Elizabeth Pena)
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The Department of Defense announced that all military
occupations and positions would be open to women, Jan. 2016.
Landes, a wife and mother of four, had been waiting for this
moment since she was seven-years-old.
“I've always
wanted to be in the combat military occupational specialty;
I just wasn't allowed. As soon as it opened I was like ‘hey
combat MOS's are open, I'm going to have this baby real
quick then I'm going to re-enlist for it,” said Landes.
During the 20-day course Landes, along with her peers
conducted 200 academic hours to include the Army's new high
physical demands test that both men and women needed to pass
at the same standards.
“We've got a streak of seven
years of not sending anyone home and we're not afraid to
break that,” said Texas Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class
Michael C. Dixon, an instructor at the cavalry scout course.
“She did the 12-mile, she did the hand grenade toss, dummy
drag and pulled out the Bradley main gun that weighs
collectively almost 300 pounds. She's done it all.”
The Texas National Guard's 136th RTI, headquartered at Camp
Mabry in Austin, Texas, offers courses to any soldier in the
U.S. Army, active, guard or reserve, including numerous
MOS's such as the cavalry scout.
Texas Army National
Guard Sgt. 1st Class Kristopher E. Townsend, instructor and
course manager, said his favorite part of being an
instructor is educating his students.
“It's training
soldiers, bringing guys into an MOS that I love and being
able to depart my experience, what I've learned in my career
down to the joe's and bring them into the fold of the
cavalry,” said Townsend.
The Texas National Guard
instructors led the course for six prior service members
that had made the decision to re-class to 19D.
“They
have a really good training set up; it's better than most
Army training. It's been fun and interesting,” said Landes.
In 2014, the U.S. Army Training Command awarded the
136th RTI as an Institution of Excellence, the highest
accreditation an RTI can receive.
“We always want to
go beyond the program of instruction and make the course
better than just the minimum,” Sgt. Steven L. Conwill, 136th
RTI. “Being new here to Fort Hood we have access to a lot of
newer things that might not have had access to at Camp Mabry
or Camp Bowie.”
As the Army welcomes women into
combat roles, Texas' RTI will continue to train soldiers
across the force to the best standard possible.
“The
RTI is proud to be a part of training so many fine men and
women,” said Texas Army National Guard Col. Kevin Countie,
136th RTI commander. “Supporting the Army's readiness and
combat performance is our top priority.”
By U.S. Army National Guard Sgt. Elizabeth Pena
Texas Military
Department
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2016
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