New York National Guard Female Soldier meeting Artillery gunline challenge

Congratulations to SPC Ashley Diaz for becoming a 13B cannon crewman.

She plays volleyball. She plays softball. She coaches youth volleyball and street hockey for a living. She really wants to be a New York City cop someday. So when Spec. Ashley Diaz enlisted in the New York Army National Guard in December 2015, she was looking for a physical, athletic job.

The West Hempstead, N.Y. resident became the first women in the New York Army National Guard to earn military occupational specialty 13B, a cannon crewman, and join the 1st Battalion 258th Field Artillery.

For a women entering the world of the 13B—canon crewman—the biggest challenge is whether or not she can heft the 155mm rounds of the Paladin or the 105mm rounds fired by the M-119A2 cannons employed by the 1-258th, Diaz admitted.

At advanced training she was required to load and unload a round 15 times in 15 minutes, Diaz said. The first time she went for the time, she dropped a round on her foot. That, she admitted, hurt, and slowed here down.

The second time she completed the task in 8 minutes and 30 seconds.

She joined her unit in June and is looking forward to participating in the battalion’s Annual Deployment to the Joint Readiness Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana.

"Spc. Diaz will fit right in to the battery, because she has earned the MOS 13B by meeting and exceeding the standards at Fort Sill," Mehling said.

Since then, a second female Soldier, Specialist Jelease Santiago, has enlisted to become a 13B.