Raquel DiDomenico (Steckman) was the first female combat engineer senior sergeant in the United States Army appointed to a
sapper
A sapper, also called a pioneer (military), pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefie ...
company as a
first sergeant.
She began her career in the US Army Reserve 652 Engineer Company (Multi-Role Bridge). From 2009 to 2010, she served in Baghdad, Iraq as an operations sergeant with the 401 Engineer Company (Multi-Role Bridge).
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.
Until 2018, DiDomenico served as Battle Staff Instructor and Operations
Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge
The designation Noncommissioned Officer in Charge, usually abbreviated to NCOIC (or NCO I/C), signifies an individual in the enlisted ranks of a military unit who has limited command authority over others in the unit.
An example would be a squad l ...
at the NCO Academy,
Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.
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. 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.
Her military education includes Distributed Learning Course (DLC) Level 6, Sergeants Major Course, Joint Engineer Operations Course, Foundation Training Developer, Intermediate Facilitation Skills, Foundation Instructor Facilitator, Army Training Requirements and Resource System (ATRRS) Operator, Faculty Development Program, Master Leader Course, Master Resilience Trainer, Operations Security (OPSEC) Level 2, Casualty Assistance & Notification, Structured Self Development (SSD) Level 4 (12B Senior Leader Course), 12C Basic Non-commissioned Officer Course (BNCOC), Common Core BNCOC, Primary Leadership Development Course (PLDC), Battle Staff, Company Trainer Course, Reserve Component Mobilization Planner, Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) Certifying Official, Voting Assistance Officer, Mail Manager, SINCGARS, Combat Lifesaver, Duty Appointed Retention NCO, and One Station Unit Training (OSUT) Bridge Crewmember.
[https://www.dvidshub.net/audio/71770/fort-mccoy-behind-triad-leadership-podcast-csm-raquel-didomenico]
Interviews
"Behind the Triad Leadership Podcast - CSM Raquel DiDomenico" ''
US DoD''
"Fort McCoy Garrison CSM discusses ease of using Commissary CLICK2GO online ordering" ''
US DoD''
"Womens History Month Feature Command Sergeant Major CSM Raque DiDomenico" ''
Faith, Health, Home''
Acting
"2022 Holiday Message from the Fort McCoy Garrison Command Team - CSM Raquel DiDomenico" U.S. Army video by Greg Mason, Fort McCoy Multi-Media Visual Information
References
Further reading
"First Sgt. Raquel Steckman is the 1st woman in the #Army appointed to a combat engineer company as a first sergeant" ''
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
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"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
''Task & Purpose'' is an American online publication founded in 2014 which covers the United States Armed Forces and the defense industry. They serve millions of readers monthly.
History
''Task & Purpose'' was founded in 2014 by Zachary Iscol ...
''
"Fort Bragg general salutes Women’s History Month" ''
Paraglide
Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'po ...
''
"The U.S. Army is changing ... for the better" ''
Daily Kos''
"BARRIER BROKEN WITH COMBAT ENGINEER COMPANY’S FEMALE 1ST SERGEANT" NCO Journal
"U.S. Army Reserve (@USArmyReserve) In 2014, Command Sgt. Major..." Twitter.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:DiDomenico, Raquel
1980 births
Living people
Women in the United States Army
United States Army soldiers