The Navy finally appoints its first female warfare specialist—and the training was no joke

A US woman has made history by becoming the first female Naval Special Warfare operator, after successfully completing an intensive 37-week training program. 

The military sailor, who has not been identified, graduated from the grueling boot camp alongside 17 other Navy members on Thursday—and will now join the ranks of one of the toughest operation forces in the country. 

As a Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman, or SWCC, the committed Naval officer is qualified to carry out highly classified missions on both domestic and foreign waters. She will assume a number of lofty responsibilities on duty, including the insertion and extraction of SEALs (Navy Sea Air and Land) and other Navy personnel from warfare vessels. 

When she's not helping her fellow troops, she will be expected to gather top-secret information on enemy forces and liaise with other military and law enforcement agencies. It's a tough job, challenging both the physical and mental strength of its 755 officers at every waking hour. 

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"Becoming the first woman to graduate from a Naval Special Warfare training pipeline is an extraordinary accomplishment, and we are incredibly proud of our teammate,” Rear Adm. H.W. Howard III, commander of Naval Special Warfare, said in a statement. “Like her fellow operators, she demonstrated the character, cognitive, and leadership attributes required to join our force.”

The SWCC, which was established in 1987, holds a strong reputation for its sophisticated operation of military vessels and covert infiltration and exfiltration of SEALs. Based on the motto 'On Time, On Target, Never Quit!', its training holds little tolerance for excuses or errors. Of the participants who enroll in the course every year, only 35% will make it to the end. 

SWCC hopefuls are first put through a rigorous recruit training program, where they will undergo in-depth physical and psychological screenings. They will then enter a two-week-long course called SWCC Indoctrination, before embarking on 5 weeks of crewmember training. During this phase of their preparation, they will receive training in "water competency, basic seamanship, boat handling, teamwork, and mental tenacity". 

After successfully nailing these skills, they will advance to a 15-week long training to sharpen their technical knowledge. It's not until the final stage of the program, however, that participants are truly pushed to their limits. The course wraps up with a three-day test known as 'The Fall', aptly named after its high failure rate. 

Once a participant has completed the course, they're put straight to work. They will either be deployed overseas, where they will be stationed near rivers or coastlines, or remain at one of the US military bases to continue their training.