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First Female 11B is Headed to Fort Benning

First Female 11B is Headed to Fort Benning

ROBELINE, LA (8 April 2016) – A Robeline native is making armed forces history as the first
woman to enlist in the infantry in the United States Army.

Women in combat has been a topic of controversy for years, but now progress is being made.

Tammy Barnett was a police officer but traded in her badge to make history.

She’s looking forward to seeing action on the front lines and making gains for women in the
military.

Thursday, Barnett proudly raised her hand to take the Oath of Enlistment.

Dressed in tennis shoes, jeans and a t-shirt, 25-year-old Tammy Barnett stepped into the
history books.

Barnett has been meeting with a recruiter since November and this week, at the military
processing unit in Shreveport, she took a leap that’s never been made before, she joined the
infantry in the U.S. Army.

“They told me that I would be the first female in history to go infantry in the military,” said
Barnett.

Recently, the defense department lifted gender-based restrictions on military service. The
historic change cleared the way for women like Barnett who want to serve on the front lines.

On April 4, the processing center received word that women would be allowed to sign up for
combat jobs. Now, Barnett is hoping that others will follow her lead.

“I hope that I give them the courage, because I’m a small female, if I can do it, they can do it
too, this could give them the courage to step out of their comfort zone,” explained Barnett.

Barnett isn’t fond of the limelight, but she has no problem stepping forward when it comes to
service.

“I was going to go military police, but infantry is similar, and they are more on the front lines,
like law enforcement here and I said that’s what I want to do,” said Barnett.

With her mind made up, Barnett isn’t looking back, only forward to a future full of possibilities
and breaking barriers for women in the military.

Barnett will head to Fort Benning, Georgia to start training. In the meantime, she says she’s
going to celebrate her history-making moment by going fishing this weekend.