AS a commissioned U.S. Army armor officer, 2nd Lt. Kortney Camacho is expected to lead a combat arms unit.
Kortney Camacho salutes after she was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army on Tuesday at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Puerto Rico, Saipan.
Contributed photo
She said she still has a lot to learn. “I have so much to learn, as a soldier and as an officer, and leading a combat arms unit,” she added.
“I am ready and willing to lead and take part in what the Army has planned for me,” she said.
Camacho became the first woman from Saipan to be commissioned as an armor officer. Her oath-taking ceremony was held at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Puerto Rico, Saipan on Tuesday.
It was retired U.S. Army Col. Harry C. Blanco who administered the oath of office to Lt. Camacho in the ceremony that was also attended by her immediate family members.
Armor officers are responsible for tank and cavalry and forward reconnaissance operations on the battlefield.
According to Camacho, she has faced physical, emotional, and mental hardships, but her “beacon of motivation” has always been her family. “Without them, I just don’t know,” she said.
She reiterated her previous statement to other young women who want to pursue a military career or any other profession: “If you are persistent enough, committed and dedicated, anything is possible.”
Camacho joined the University of Guam Reserve Officers’ Training Corps in the Fall 2016 semester, earning a four-year national scholarship. She will graduate with a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice with a minor in public administration.
She will then head to Fort Benning, Georgia for the Armor Basic Officer Leader Course or ABOLC.
ABOLC is the introductory skills course for the U.S. Army Cavalry and armor second and first lieutenants.
ABOLC aims to produce “armor officers capable of decisive operations when leading a tank platoon in support of a combined arms team.”
Lt. Camacho’s father, Commonwealth Utilities Corporation Executive Director Gary Camacho, said he is very proud of his daughter’s accomplishments.
“I am very proud of her and all her accomplishments thus far. She has been committed to her goals and she has a great future ahead of her. What she is doing as the first [Saipan] female armor officer is paving the way for other women to do whatever they wish in the military. We couldn’t be prouder.”
