Another KU First
Monday, May 19, 2014

Madeline Wilcox, Leavenworth, will be KU's first female combat arms officer to be commissioned following the Pentagon order in 2013 to open combat arms branches to women in all military services.
KU News Story- May 14, 2014
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Army ROTC will commission its first female Field Artillery officer this spring following Pentagon orders in 2013 to open combat-arms branches to women across all military services.

“Cadet Wilcox’s selection to Field Artillery was a surprise to her and us, but as the Army moves to put females into combat arms, Cadet Wilcox has great potential to do well,” said Lt. Col. Storm Reynolds, professor of military science.
Wilcox joined Army ROTC in 2010, during the spring semester of her freshman year at KU. Now a senior, she will earn a degree in political science.

Wilcox earned high marks as a student and cadet at KU.
She will graduate as a Distinguished Military Graduate, top 20 percent of all graduating Army ROTC cadets across 273 programs in the nation. Wilcox also was part of roughly 1,000 cadets out of the 5,000 in the nation to earn an overall Excellent grade this summer at the 2013 Leadership Development and Assessment Course at Fort Lewis, Washington.
U.S. Army combat arms branches include Infantry, Armor, Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery. Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery are the only two combat branches currently open to female officers. Field Artillery officers are typically integrated into maneuver units on the ground and command fire support missions on the battlefield.
Upon graduation and commissioning Wilcox will attend Field Artillery Basic Officer’s Leadership Course, a five-month followup on training for new lieutenants, in Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
- See more at: http://news.ku.edu/2014/05/14/ku-commission-first-female-combat-arms-officer#sthash.rXJkpyF9.dpuf
