National Guard Member Becomes First Female In Utah In Combat Arms
Apr 23, 2019, 10:28 PM | Updated: May 1, 2019, 3:18 pm
RIVERTON, Utah — Felicia Olmos is the only female in her Utah Army National Guard unit out of Beaver, and she would not have it any other way.
“Being a female, I wanted to get in there with them,” she said about her decision to enlist.
It was fall of 2017 when she decided to give her long-time goal to join the military a try. She met with a Utah National Guard recruiter and said the opportunity piqued her interest.
“He said ‘well you know we have this one program but no female in Utah has ever completed the training,’” Olmos said. “I cut him off and said ‘sign me up, sign me up and get me in there.’”
Olmos was shipped out to Missouri for basic training where she excelled, despite the doubt she feared she would face as a woman.
“I walked right up to all these guys and they all kind of turned and looked at me and I’m like ‘Yep I’m here,’” she laughed.
Not only did Olmos show up, but she blew through drills scoring a 363 out of 300 for the army fitness test.
She then moved on to specialty training in Oklahoma where she became Utah’s first female cannon crew member and eventually the state’s first female in Combat Arms.
Last May she joined her unit in Beaver and is still the only woman.
“You kind of feel invincible, honestly,” she said. “For those women who are also going for it, I tell them to not even think twice about it. If you want to do it, if you want to be awesome, do it. Go for it! You will surprise yourself.”
