Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

The first female soldier becomes ‘Power Ranger’ overcoming 1% challenge and 99% prejudice

Conducted mission as a controlling instructor across PT exercise and obstacle courses

Showed soft charisma as an instructor rather than an intimidating look

 
 
“I don’t like your tone of voice. Powerful shouts forward for 3 seconds!”

There is something out of the ordinary in one female instructor‘s voice. She wears a black T-shirt emblazoned with the word ‘Ranger' and a hat. Her eyes cannot be seen because of her reflective sunglasses. Her firm and clear tone and the stick she wields make the hundreds of soldiers gathered at the training ground move.

The instructor is Sergeant first class Lee Se-ra, 29, 106th Mechanization Infantry battalion, 2nd Army Armored Brigade. She has distinguished herself, as almost everyone knows, including the unit. It is because she became the ’1st Ranger’ among female soldiers on September 2, after a 4-week ranger course in the Army Infantry School, with Sergeant first class Jin Mi-eun, Korea Army 3rd Military Academy.

Let’s meet Sergeant first class Lee, who is conducting her first mission as a ranger instructor at the Gamaksan guerrilla training ground in Paju, Gyeonggi-do, on the third day of training.

The unit had ‘2016 Guerrilla Training’ for born-again warriors for five days and four nights, from October 10 to 14. The training focused on building basic physical strength through the guerrilla training, cultivating self-confidence with basic and mountainous obstacle training, and developing the ability to overcome obstacles. 560 troops including the battalion commander participated in this training, which consisted of PT exercise, basic and mountainous obstacles, CBR, climbing running, a 40km-long night tactical march, and more. The unit assigned the total control instructing mission to Sergeant first class Lee, a verified PT specialist. She conducted her mission as a controlling instructor for PT exercise and obstacle courses for an hour in the morning and the afternoon during the whole training period.

“I felt a little bit uncomfortable taking on this huge mission, which involved the control of those troops in the field. But I’m doing my job with confidence as the best ‘specialist’ in PT area within our unit and expertise. While the training is different from the ranger course, I’d like to contribute to successful ranger training based on the know-how I learned from the training course,” she said.

As well, she added, “I want to show a soft charisma that encourages soldiers to make it rather than be a scary instructor. Sometimes I punish soldiers who are distracted during PT exercise so that they focus on the training, but most of them move quickly and are good at the training while repeating it. And I feel really great about it.”

Private first class Lee Seok-jun, Phoenix battalion, said, “It felt different not only because she was a female instructor but because she was a professional instructor, the ‘1st Ranger’. The most difficult training for me was the triple tightrope walking because I had to build up my courage for it, and I’m so thankful that Sergeant first class Lee gave me the power of positive thought that I could do it and overcome the challenge.”

Sergeant first class Lee said the most unforgettable moment during her military life was September 7, when she had the completion ceremony for her ranger course and returned to her unit.

“I became so popular. I’ve heard that many in the unit, as well as family members of soldiers who visited their sons, asked whether I was really in the same unit with Sergeant first class Lee Se-ra. But, above all things, the welcoming ceremony the unit held for me made me forget hardships at once,” she said.

The unit gave her a grand welcome with a car parade and honor guard’s crossing-knife ceremony from the main gate, as they were proud to have a professional ranger instructor from the unit itself. They also put up a banner at a guardhouse for a month and posted the news on the pop-up window of the unit webpage, celebrating the 1st female ranger, to inspire a spirit of dedication and motivate the other units, subordinate forces of the brigade.

Sergeant first class Lee said, “Assistant instructors express their interest in the ranger course and ask me about it a lot. They also praised me, saying “You are great“, and said they would fully back me up as much as they can for this training. It was really great. I hope all the soldiers finish the ranger training securely and safely, as well as have a memorable experience training with a female ranger instructor.”

And Lieutenant colonel Han Wook-hyun, ranger commander, said, “How great Lee Se-ra is. There are less than 200 professional rangers across the whole force, and one of them, a female ranger, belongs to our unit. I think it is a good opportunity to get professional training. And through the ranger training, I will do my best to instill confidence in the soldiers that they can do it, enhance the cohesion, promote morale initiatives, and make our unit a strong one that can conduct our missions immediately, whatever the circumstances.”

By Ah-Mi, Cho< joajoa@dema.mil.kr >, from Paju
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