FORT JACKSON, S.C., Sept. 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army will install its first woman commandant of a drill sergeant school, a spokesman for Fort Jackson, S.C., said.
Command Sgt. Maj. Teresa L. King, 48, will be installed Tuesday, The New York Times reported Monday.
The school at Fort Jackson trains all drill sergeants for the Army since the other schools were consolidated on the sprawling campus. King will oversee 78 instructors.
Only 8 percent of sergeants major, the highest-ranking enlisted soldiers, are female. More than 13 percent of the Army is female.
One area of particular difficulty for the Army is in recruiting women as drill sergeants. Army officials cite pregnancy, long hours and the prohibition against women serving in frontline combat positions as reasons.
Since today's drill sergeants will be the Army's senior enlisted leadership in 10 years, King is setting recruiting more women as one of her priorities.
King says her role models have been male and denies she has risen to her current position because of her gender. She says she has commanded and trained all-male platoons and held her own against generals.
