The first female soldier has passed the British Army’s demanding course to prove that personnel have the physical and mental robustness needed to serve in Airborne Forces.

In a news release, the British Army say that Private (Pte) Addy Carter, of 16 Medical Regiment, was presented with a maroon beret after completing All Arms Pre Parachute Selection (AAPPS) – known as P Company. The three-and-a-half-week course at Catterick, add the Army, culminates in the gruelling eight events of Test Week, including loaded marches, log and stretcher races, and an aerial confidence course.

Minister for Defence People, Veterans and Service Families, Sarah Atherton, was quoted as saying:

“I am immensely proud of Addy and her achievements in passing such a demanding course. She has set a high standard for all our serving personnel, both men and women, and this is a clear example of what can be accomplished through hard work and determination. I wish her all the best in her future endeavours with the Army.”

Pte Carter was quoted as saying:

“I heard about P Coy during basic training, it sounded really tough, but I just wanted to give it a go and prove to myself that I could do it. Physically I found it very challenging, but it’s about showing that you can deliver when things get hard – I just kept telling myself that every step was a step closer to the end. As a woman, I wasn’t treated any differently by the instructors, nor did I expect or want to be. I hope that I’ve shown to other female soldiers that it’s achievable. Coming back to my unit, there are other women who’ve said that they’re now more confident to give it a go.”

Major Chris Braithwaite, Officer Commanding Pegasus Company, was quoted as saying:

“Pegasus Company is designed to test an individual’s physical fitness, determination and mental robustness under stress, to ensure they have the self-discipline and motivation for service in Airborne Forces. There is a set standard that anyone who attempts the course must achieve and these are rigidly enforced by my team – of 98 candidates who started this course, 59 were successful.

I hope that Private Carter’s success on All Arms Pre-Parachute Selection encourages others to attempt the course. I would like to congratulate all who passed and wish them the best for their future service within Airborne Forces.”

You can read more on this here.

Lisa West
Lisa West
Lisa has a degree in Media & Communication from Glasgow Caledonian University and works with industry news, sifting through press releases in addition to moderating website comments.

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41 COMMENTS

  2. Congratulations Pte Carter, utmost respect for your achievement.

    To all our forces personnel, male or female; thankyou for your service and stay as safe as you can.

  6. Excellent and timely (for the armed forces facing sex abuse allegations). Women were crucial to our war effort in the last century. Well done Carter!

    • Absolutely, The All Arms P Coy is no easy ride. The number of guys that used to drop out when we were in Aldershot was quite high and the mental side of getting beasted for 3 weeks shows she has what it takes. Good luck to her on her jumps course.

  8. Congratulations Pte Carter, this is how it should be, a candidate has gone in for it and passed.
    Showing that she is up to the job and able to perform along side others equally.
    Good on ya, I wish you all the best for the future 👍👏👏

  9. Great achievement.
    Worth also remembering that Capt Rosie Wild was the first female officer to pass P Company in Feb 2020.

  10. TBF it’s not the gruelling Parachute Regiment test! It’s the same test week yes, for the All arms course (and Parachute Regiment officers) but the lads for Battalion are tested throughout the whole of Basic, mentality and physically. Anyway, that said, no issues from me, meet the standards pass the tests. However as an attached arm she will need to keep proving herself time and again, whether she likes it or not! The attached arms get a hard time (I used to give it out like a good un until I grew up, gained promotion and understood the bigger picture) and as a female the “dinosaurs” and the dick heads will not give her a chance! I reckon she will end up on 16 Med Reg training team less than a year after she completes her jumps! Politics you see chaps, politics!

    • Has any woman ever attempted for the Battalions proper? That is Para Reg and not attached arms as you point out?

      • Since the rules have changed to allow females in combat arms, the simple answer is no! A female did make big licks about going for it, in the usual tabloids a few years back, but nothing happened mate. I’m sure a female will go for it, and with the same grit, determination, fitness and controlled aggression, will pass. And good for her/them. If standards are maintained then I have no issues whatsoever.

        In my time I’ve served with a few females, medics, int corp, a few others over in NI etc and many have been outstanding at their job, with a tough attitude to their trade and to soldiering! I’m a big believer in training and preparation for any course, job or unit, should be productive and constructive, not destructive! We do lose many quality people at certain stages of many such course due to (and I have harped on about this prior) to “creeping excellence” which is a bad disease that sets in when certain training teams/staff (who have an element of autonomy) claim they had it so hard that the next course should have it harder! It’s an illusionary standard which grows in time (but not in reality) and that does not conform to the set requirements stated in the manual. It’s a situation which needs to be closely monitored and actioned by head sheds if found to be employed.

        In fact mate I was watching Forces news a while ago and they were interviewing the tankies of the RTR in Estonia (I think) and one of the tankies was a young, mixed race female, tank driver! Boom I loved it, the Army is getting there and it may make me sound a bit woke, but I loved how much she loved it! It did in fact make me proud!!!!!!!! Cheers

          • My Regt was at the far end of Aldershot in North Camp. The pubs in Aldershot were pretty much out of bounds to us even for those guys that were para trained unless you wanted a quick visit to CMH. Farnborough (Tumble Down Dicks) and Frimley (White Hart) were our watering holes. Both places very nice.

          • Lille Barracks? so, your waterhole could have been the North Camp pub? I was at Browning and my younger Bro was at Lille.

          • Yes, the 2 pubs there being the North Camp and the Elephant and Castle. I did work for a couple of years at Montgomery Lines along with the RAP medics from 2 and 3 Para, great bunch of guys and top medics. My ex father in law was also 1 Para, joined at 15 and finished at 55. The fitest guy I’ve ever met but unfortunately he died about 18 months after coming out, such a shame.

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