Raquel DiDomenico
Raquel DiDomenico | |
---|---|
![]() DiDomenico in 2015 | |
Birth name | Raquel Angeline DiDomenico |
Other name(s) | Raquel Steckman |
Born | Grosse Pointe, Michigan | November 27, 1980
Service/ | Army |
Years of service | 1998 - present |
Rank | First Sergeant |
Awards | |
Children | 2 |
Raquel DiDomenico (Steckman) was the first female combat engineer senior sergeant in the United States Army appointed to a sapper company as a first sergeant.[1][2][3]
She began her career in the US Army Reserve 652 Engineer Company (Multi-Role Bridge).[4] From 2009 to 2010, she served in Baghdad, Iraq as an operations sergeant with the 401 Engineer Company (Multi-Role Bridge).[5]
On Jan. 9, 2015, 1st Sgt. Raquel Steckman reported as the new first sergeant of the 374th Engineer Company in Concord, California, becoming the first female combat engineer senior sergeant who is 12Z qualified to hold this leadership position in a Sapper unit.[6]
Until 2018, DiDomenico served as Battle Staff Instructor and Operations Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge at the NCO Academy, Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.[7]
As of early 2018, DiDomenico has been selected for promotion to E9 and assumed the role of Engineer School Reserve Component Sergeant Major at Fort Leonard Wood. She will be attending the non-resident Sergeants Major academy.
During a ceremony at Fort McCoy on July 1, 2021, DiDomenico replaced Command Sgt. Maj. Paul Mantha as the garrison Command Sergeant Major.[8][9] A Command Sergeant Major (CSM) is the most senior enlisted member of a color-bearing Army unit. The CSM is appointed to serve as a spokesman to address the issues of all soldiers, from enlisted to officers, from warrant officers and lieutenants to the Army's highest positions.[10]
References
- ^ "Blowing down barriers: Female first sergeant takes charge of sapper company", Army Times
- ^ "U.S. Army Reserve". www.facebook.com.
- ^ "First Sgt. Raquel Steckman is the first woman in the Army appointed to a combat engineer company as a first sergeant, now with the 374th Engineer Company (Sapper)", Alamy
- ^ "Army Reserve makes it official in Hammond", Hudson Star Observer
- ^ "Raquel DiDomenico (1)", LinkedIn
- ^ "Sapper 1st sgt. represents a first for combat engineers" Army Times
- ^ "Raquel DiDomenico (2)", LinkedIn
- ^ Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
- ^ Amry.mil
- ^ Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
Further reading
- "First Sgt. Raquel Steckman is the 1st woman in the #Army appointed to a combat engineer company as a first sergeant", Twitter
- "1sg raquel steckman is the first female combat engineer senior sgt in the army appointed to a sapper company as a 1sg", Scoopnest
- "Concord Army Reserve Unit First to Be Headed by a Woman", Concord Patch
- "The Argument For Women In Combat Should Be About Mission Effectiveness", Task & Purpose
- "Fort Bragg general salutes Women’s History Month", Paraglide
- "The U.S. Army is changing ... for the better", Daily Kos
- "BARRIER BROKEN WITH COMBAT ENGINEER COMPANY’S FEMALE 1ST SERGEANT", "NCO Journal"