Kate Wilder

Kate Wilder is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who became the first woman to complete the Army's Special Forces Officer Course in 1980. Although she was initially denied graduation, her official recognition followed a successful sex discrimination complaint and a subsequent Army investigation.

Early life A native of New Orleans and the daughter of a retired U.S. Army colonel, Wilder's motivation to enlist was shaped by personal and political events of the era. After her fiancé was drafted and killed in the Vietnam War in 1969, she became active in the Equal Rights Amendment movement during the 1970s. During this period, she examined military regulations and found no rule that explicitly restricted the Special Forces course to male soldiers.

During the course, Wilder faced significant opposition from instructors and the school's leadership. This contradicted what Wilder's own instructors had told her about her passing performance. The official reason given was for "caching equipment," a practice Wilder maintained was common among all students and not grounds for failure.

Consequently, Wilder filed a sex discrimination complaint. Her case prompted a four-month investigation led by Brigadier General F. Cecil Adams, which concluded that she had been wrongly denied graduation. On February 20, 1981, General Donn A. Starry, head of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, formally approved her appeal.

Wilder was awarded the "5 Golf" skill identifier for Special Forces and received a graduation certificate backdated to her original class date of August 21, 1980. The Army announced that as a qualified officer, she was entitled to wear the Green Beret if assigned to a Special Forces unit, though combat-exclusion laws at the time meant she would serve in a support capacity.

Later career Although officially qualified, Wilder never returned to a Special Forces unit. After the course, she attended an advanced intelligence course in Arizona before being stationed in Germany. Following her graduation, the Army amended its regulations to formally bar women from the course, a policy that remained in effect until 2016. When the Special Forces tab was created in 1983, Wilder was deemed qualified and wore it for the remainder of her career. She later transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve, retiring in 2003 as a lieutenant colonel after 28 years of service.