While there are many leaders in the Army there are few female commanders that bear the sapper tab. Capt. Elizabeth M. Wagner, the sapper company commander, 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team on Fort Stewart, learned valuable skills in the Sapper Leadership Course that she applies every day to her role as a leader.
A sapper is considered an elite combat engineer, and may perform any number of tasks such as bridge-building, demolitions, field defense, and other such missions. The combat engineer position has only been open to women since 2013 but the Sapper Leadership Course has been open to female Soldiers since 1999. Only a handful of Soldiers, male or female, successfully graduate.
"It's a leadership school first, specific to combat engineers," Wagner said. "You're put through a lot physically and mentally and you're challenged every single day." The course is designed to teach Soldiers engineer specific tasks, mountaineering, infantry skills and airborne and air assault operations.
Wagner is able to apply what she learned at the school in her command at the company. Not only, because she can take the combat engineer skills she honed during the course, but also the way she leads her Soldiers. "She took what she learned at the schoolhouse and brought it to the company," said Staff Sgt. Jacob W. Rowe, a light engineer assigned to Company A, 9th BEB., 2nd IBCT. "She has a strong work ethic and dedication to what she is doing."
"I don't ask the Soldiers to anything that I couldn't do," said Wagner in reference to her company on Fort Stewart. "That's very important in a company like this where it's all combat engineers and their job is very physical and technical."
As the only female in her sapper class, she was cognizant of how to prove herself to her male peers. "One of the quickest ways for me to build rapport with a bunch of hard-charging male Soldiers was to show them that I was smart, that I could help and that I wasn't dead weight," Wagner said . By proving that she could handle any challenges presented to her, her classmates learned to trust in Wagner.
Above all else, Wagner stresses trust and honesty as foundations for good leadership. "I'm honest and expect honesty in return," she said. "I believe in knowing one's job and leaders being able to trust subordinates, know their job and can do it right." She has learned that honesty and trust help build a better team, as well as enhance communication among her company. "As a leader she is goal oriented, driven; and expresses her feelings and passions to the company and why it is important to her," Rowe said.
The Soldiers have learned to trust and communicate with their command team. The foundation for that is the trust and honesty that Wagner holds important. With that, they are able to get feedback on their mission. "I don't hide things from the Soldiers whether it's the reason why we're doing something, whether I'm pleased or displeased with their performance," Wagner continued. "I believe they've got to have that feedback."
The course helped her mature as a leader and helped lay the foundation for how she defines her leadership. At the core of this is patience, honesty, trust, a strong Family bond and comradeship. Wagner is a prime example of how a commander can use these strengths to build a stronger and more cohesive team.
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