“I’m the Royal Engineer’s first female Squadron Sergeant Major and a single mum.”
Deployed to Liverpool for COVID-19 testing, Squadron Sergeant Major Read has had an impressive 21-year career.
The squadron should have been abroad this year— instead, they’re protecting their country from closer to home. For the past two weeks, Squadron Sergeant Major Read has been overseeing her squadron’s work on Liverpool’s COVID-19 testing sites. They’re handing out tests in 6 different schools on rotation.
“The pandemic has dampened a lot of our deployments, so we’re grateful to still be able to team together and do something important.
The Engineers never fail to amaze me — whatever task they get given. The guys were trained on how to build the testing site and they rolled out so quickly. The speed at which they can put up the sites themselves and give the tests is so impressive.”
21 years ago, she was only the fifth woman to join the Royal Engineers, but she has since become their first female Squadron Sergeant Major.
Her son, 13, is incredibly proud of her. She says being one of few women was daunting at first, but was a huge motivator in working hard and proving herself. Now, there are around 70 women in the corps, and she wants those considering applying to know there are a wide variety of roles in the Royal Engineers.
Being a single mum has been her toughest challenge in the Army, but her employer has been hugely supportive — for example, paying her son’s boarding school fees while she is on deployment.
It’s hard being in the same country as her son but unable to visit on weekends due to the pandemic. They still facetime every day, and she’s great friends with her son’s father — a Paralympian veteran, who lost his lower limbs in Afghanistan and has since won gold representing his country in weighlifting in multiple competitions.
“You can be a mum and be in the Army. It shouldn’t put somebody off who wants to join the Army.”
