NOVO SELO TRAINING AREA, BULGARIA -- For Spc. Shantele Frie Dec. 1 started early. Her unit is preparing to redeploy to Fort Stewart, Ga., after conducting Operation Atlantic Resolve-South at Novo Selo Training Area, Bulgaria. She was sent as the mechanic in support of rail load operations; however, by sundown she made history in the United States Army.
Frie is a 29 year-old native of Oakland, Calif., who attended Basic Combat Training in February 2013 and continued to Fort Benning, Ga., for Advanced Individual Training. She is the fourth female 91M, Bradley Fighting Vehicle System Maintainer, in the Military Occupational Specialty which recently opened to females less than a year prior to her enlisting. Frie graduated AIT as the Distinguished Honor Graduate and received orders to Delta Company, 3rd Brigade Support Battalion, Forward Support Company for the 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment. Upon arrival, she quickly asserted herself as one of the fastest learning, most relied upon mechanics in the shop.
"I knew I was a part of history just being a 91M to start with," Frie stated as she troubleshot a gunner's hand station on an M2A3 Bradley in Bulgaria. "But I didn't know I was going to write history."
Frie set a secret goal upon realizing that there weren't too many females in her MOS -- after realizing there were no female noncommissioned officers, she was determined to be the first. She continued to perform her job and asked Field Service Representatives to give her faults she could research in her spare time, aspiring to be more knowledgeable in her field. Although she was awarded an Associate's Degree prior to enlisting, she studied military classes at night in order to prepare for her career. All of these factors eventually added up to something even she did not know would happen as quickly as it did: in August 2015, she appeared before the promotion board, where she was recommended for promotion.
On Nov. 25, the Human Resources Command published its promotion points and by-name-list of Soldiers eligible for promotion in December. Frie had achieved her goal. As she roamed around the rail head on Dec. 1, she hopped from one Bradley to the next checking with the crews to make sure their vehicle was ready to be loaded and she didn't have to do any last minute fixes prior to its movement. These would be her last actions as a specialist in the Army.
At the motor pool where she has worked for the past two and a half months, Apache Troop, 5-7 Cavalry held a quick, informal formation to promote a few privates first class to specialist. At the conclusion of those promotions, she was called to post in front of the formation, where the Troop's Executive Officer posted the orders for her promotion to sergeant.
"I haven't been here that long, but in the short time I've been with [Spc. Frie] I have come to rely on her as an NCO," said Sgt. 1st Class Kevin McDaniel, Apache Troop Maintenance Team Chief. "She was more or less performing as an NCO wearing Specialist rank, so this promotion is really well deserved."
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Scott Sobataka, Squadron Maintenance Technician, spoke about the significance of this day. "There are not many things in the Army that you will be the first to ever do. What you all are about to be a part of is Spc. Frie becoming the first ever female to be promoted to the rank of Sergeant in the MOS of 91M."
After those remarks, it was time: the NCO Corps welcomed the first female Bradley Maintainer to its ranks as Sobataka and McDaniel pinned the well-deserved rank on now-Sgt. Frie's uniform and head gear.
After brief remarks from Frie where she thanked her command team, her maintenance team, her leaders and mentors, she took a moment to thank a very special person who was not able to attend. Her husband, Staff Sgt. Timothy Frie, a supply sergeant in 2nd Brigade 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart.
Frie is also an avid triathlete. She can be seen running or riding her bike around post in her off time, or at an on post pool getting laps in. She has podium finishes in triathlons around Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida. She has also competed in 50K Endurance Races and most recently a 70.3 mile Half Iron Man in Augusta, Ga., on Aug. 25, just weeks before deploying to Europe. Her Triathlon goal is to one day compete in a full Iron Man competition.
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