KNBN NewsCenter1
April 21, 2021
RAPID CITY, S.D. On April 10, the South Dakota Army National Guard graduated their first female drill sergeant from the U.S. Army’s Drill Sergeant Academy in Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
Staff Sgt. Erin Fagnan of Rapid City is the first female from South Dakota to attend and graduate from the academy while serving in the South Dakota Army National Guard, and also graduated on the Commandant’s List – putting her in the top 10 in her class of 107 students.
Fagnan is a member of the South Dakota Army National Guard’s Recruiting and Retention Battalion and serves as a drill instructor for the Recruit Sustainment Program, which helps prepare newly-enlisted recruits for Basic Combat Training.