Army school graduates its first active-duty female sniper

The U.S. Army school graduated its first active-duty female sniper in November, the Army recently announced.

Sgt. Maciel Hay, a cavalry scout with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Europe, was one of several graduates of the grueling, seven-week program and the first active-duty woman to complete the course, the Army announced last week.

She received certification as a U.S. Army sniper at Fort Moore in Georgia.

While in 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. Her progression “reflects not just her skill but also her dedication to mastering the art of marksmanship,” the Army said in a release.

For candidates to be chosen for sniper school, they must demonstrate “exceptional marksmanship skills” and meet specific physical and mental standards.

While in school, candidates must have skills with various sniper rifles and be skilled in stalking, concealment, observation, intelligence gathering, survival skills, land navigation and urban environment sniping, the Army said.

She said growing up her nickname was “sniper” because she could find things “really fast, similar to how a sniper does target detection.”

Hay is the first female active-duty soldier to complete the program. In 2021, the Army announced that a female soldier, who they did not name, graduated from the course.

“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,” Hay’s platoon sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class Antwon Jones, said in the Army’s release.

In 2015, the U.S. military opened all combat jobs to women. In the years since, several female soldiers have made history by becoming to graduate from the Army’s Ranger School or completing the Special Forces course and joining the Green Berets, The Hill previously reported.