First Female Navy Special Operations Sailor Graduates from Training

July 15, 2021 3:29 PM

U.S. Navy Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen (SWCC) approach the HS Kanaris during Visit Board Search and Seizure (VBSS) training in Souda Bay, Greece in early 2021. US Navy Photo

The first female member of the Navy’s special operations forces graduated from training on Thursday, the service said.

Included in the 17 graduates of Crewman Qualification Training (CQT) Class 115 is the first female Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen (SWCC), according to Naval Special Warfare Command.

Less well known than the Navy SEALs, SWCC operators are specialists in small boats designed for the insertion of SEALs and special operation forces in support of U.S. Special Operations Command. SWCC sailors undergo a similar training regime as the SEALs, but with an emphasis on inserting and extracting forces from the sea. The community of about 800 sailors is broken up into three special boat teams. The sailors endure an almost 40-week training pipeline to get the SWCC designation.

“The SWCC assessment and selection pipeline challenges candidates through adversity, always upholding validated, gender-neutral and operationally-relevant standards,” the Navy said in a statement.
“Historically, about 35 percent of SWCC candidates make it to graduation.”

Since the Navy opened up special warfare jobs to female sailors in 2016, 18 women have attempted to pass SWCC and SEAL training. Thursday’s graduate is the first to make it through either training course.

“Becoming the first woman to graduate from a Naval Special Warfare training pipeline is an extraordinary accomplishment, and we are incredibly proud of our teammate,” Rear Adm. H.W. Howard, the commander of U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command, said in a statement.
“Like her fellow operators, she demonstrated the character, cognitive and leadership attributes required to join our force.”

Naval Special Warfare Command declined to identify the enlisted sailor when asked by USNI News on Thursday, citing a command-wide policy on not naming special warfare officers.

The following is the complete statement from the Navy.

Naval Special Warfare Welcomes CQT Class 115; First Woman Operator

July 15, 2021

CORONADO, Calif. (NNS) – Candidates of Crewman Qualification Training (CQT) Class 115 completed Naval Special Warfare’s (NSW) assessment and selection pipeline to become Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen (SWCC), earning their pins and graduating, Thursday, July 15, 2021.

Graduates of any NSW assessment and selection pipeline have met the rigorous standards to enter their chosen profession, demonstrating they possess the character, cognitive and leadership attributes required to join the force. Historically, about 35 percent of SWCC candidates make it to graduation.

Among the 17 graduates is NSW’s first woman operator. The SWCC assessment and selection pipeline challenges candidates through adversity, always upholding validated, gender-neutral and operationally-relevant standards.

“Becoming the first woman to graduate from a Naval Special Warfare training pipeline is an extraordinary accomplishment, and we are incredibly proud of our teammate,” said Rear Adm. H. W. Howard, commander, U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command. “Like her fellow operators, she demonstrated the character, cognitive and leadership attributes required to join our force.”

Following graduation, the newly-minted SWCCs will report to either a Special Boat Team or follow-on training. The continuum of qualification and training over the course of an NSW operator’s career includes continuously advancing skills in core and additional competencies.

SWCC are experts in covert insertion and extraction, utilizing a unique combination of capabilities with weapons, navigation, radio communication, first aid, engineering, parachuting and special operations tactics.

Naval Special Warfare Center, located on Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, provides initial assessment and selection and subsequent advanced training to the Sailors who make up the Navy’s SEAL and Special Boat communities. These communities support the NSW mission, providing maritime special operations forces to conduct full-spectrum operations, unilaterally or with partners, to support national objectives.

Sam LaGrone

Sam LaGrone

Sam LaGrone is the editor of USNI News. He has covered legislation, acquisition and operations for the Sea Services since 2009 and spent time underway with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the Canadian Navy.
Follow @samlagrone

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