JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska - Throughout the years, more than four dozen foreign soldiers have attended the SFC Christopher R. Brevard Noncommissioned Officer Academy. However this year, one graduate is the first of her kind.
“I am so thankful to the U.S. and Mongolian armies for allowing me to come here,” said Sgt. Muncunchimeg Nyamaajav, the first female Mongolian soldier to come to Alaska and train with U.S. Army Alaska.
On average, the NCO academy hosts 12 international students per year. The last time Mongolian soldiers attended a course at the U.S. Army Alaska academy was 2007.
Nyamaajav, who was born in Bayankhongor City of the Bayankhongor province in Mongolia, said she has always had a desire to serve. Since joining at the age of 19, she has had a passion for seeing female soldiers succeed and 10 years later, that passion is still burning.
“My hope is that more female soldiers come here and learn,” she said. “Though the terrain is the same here in Alaska, all of our experiences are different, and discussing those differences and learning from them makes us better.”
Nyamaajav, who had to take and pass an English test in order to attend the courses, said her experiences here have built her confidence. With almost 17 percent of the Mongolian Armed Forces being female, that’s what she hopes for all female soldiers.
“I want female soldiers to learn and to be strong,” she said. “I want them to hope and dream.”
While she loves being the one to push her fellow soldiers to be great, Nyamaajav credits her own loved ones with being her source of inspiration.
“My family is a big source of support for me,” she said. “My 6-year-old son is in the first grade and is studying to read, and everything I do, I do because I want him to be proud of me.”
Along with five other soldiers, Nyamaajav recently graduated from the Warrior Leadership Course and the Basic Leadership Course. As part of the courses she attended, Nyamaajav participated in various field exercises that sharpened her leadership skills and further developed her professional ethics.
The soldiers are now headed to the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, where they will participate in various hands-on training opportunities.
Though this is her first trip to the United States, Nyamaajav said there is value in the partnership her country shares with the U.S.
“This partnership with the U.S. Army is so important,” Nyamaajav said. “Because of it and the people I have met here, I am stronger and a better soldier, and I am so grateful.”