Krista Just to be Furman ROTC’s first-ever female U.S. Army infantry officer

Senior Krista Just will be commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army in May, Furman University announced April 19.

The Pickens native and Furman Army ROTC cadet is the first woman in the college’s history to receive an infantry officer commission and will be among around 13 women from all Army ROTC programs and the U.S. Military Academy to be commissioned into the infantry in 2022.

“I’m obviously very excited and apprehensive – it’s a great opportunity and it will take me really far,” she said. “But I’m terrified. Infantry is an intimidating world to enter, especially as a woman. I’m scared about a few things, mostly the culture. It’s a man’s world, pretty much. There’s a lot of physicality that I’ll need to work on, and there’s lots of book knowledge and technical skills that go into this. But it is such an honor to bridge the gap for other women to do the same or just enter the military in any role. I like the idea of helping to eliminate the stigma surrounding women in combat arms or women in the military in general.”

Just also received a contract to serve in Army Space Operations, which she’ll take on four years after her infantry stint. In the space ops role, she will be based in Ft. Carson, Colorado and will work with global positioning systems, satellite data and missile identification.

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Click here to read the full article from the Greenville Journal.