The United States Army graduated Sgt. Maciel Hay, a cavalry scout for the 173rd Airborne Brigade, to become its first active-duty female sniper last month.
Hay received certification as a U.S. Army sniper at Fort Moore in Georgia, according to the branch's Dec. 5 announcement.
"My nickname growing up was 'Sniper,'" Hay said, adding that "the nickname came from the fact that I could find things really fast, similar to how a sniper does target detection."
She also shared that she grew up shooting rifles and handguns on her family's ranches in Rocklin, California, and Medford, Oregon.
While in Army training, Hay progressed from being a marksman, which means soldiers must shoot at least 23 out of 40 targets, to expert, where they must hit a minimum of 36.
Hay went on to sniper school, where she learned a number of skills surrounding sniper rifles, as well as other skills including stalking, intelligence gathering, land navigation, and shooting in urban environments.
While Hay is the first active-duty female soldier to complete the program and graduate, an unnamed female reservist soldier reportedly completed the course in 2021 and graduated.
"Sgt. Hay is just an incredible non-commissioned officer that comes to work every day with the intention of making not only her team better, but also the entire organization," said Sgt. Maj. Antwone Jones, Hay's platoon sergeant.
The development comes nearly a decade after the U.S. military opened all combat jobs to women.