U.S. Army Sgt. Maciel Hay, a cavalry scout with 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, poses for a photo after graduating sniper school at Fort Moore, Ga., Nov. 3, 2023. Hay is the first active-duty female U.S. Army sniper. ( Patrick A. Albright/U.S. Army)

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — As a child, Sgt. Maciel Hay’s passion for shooting earned her the nickname “Sniper.”

As an adult, she’s managed to live up to that moniker by becoming the first female active-duty sniper in Army history.

Hay graduated from the branch’s notoriously difficult sniper school last month, according to an Army statement Monday.

The cavalry scout, currently deployed to Germany with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, said shooting always has come naturally to her.

“I grew up shooting, mostly rifles and handguns, on my family’s ranches in Rocklin, Calif., and Medford, Ore.,” Hay was quoted in the statement as saying. “But the nickname came from the fact that I could find things really fast, similar to how a sniper does target detection.”

Still, Hay said the inspiration to become an actual sniper came more recently, when she was a student at Sierra College, near Sacramento, and a friend told her she couldn’t do it.

“Needless to say, that person is no longer in my life,” Hay said. “But now that I look back at it, I really do appreciate the motivation.”

A soldier during stalking training at sniper school at then-Fort Benning, now Fort Moore, Ga., in January 2023. Sgt. Maciel Hay, a cavalry scout with 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, recently became the first active-duty female U.S. Army sniper, following graduation from sniper school. (Markeith Horace/U.S. Army)

The Army’s sniper course at Fort Moore, Ga., formerly known as Fort Benning, is regarded widely as one of the service’s most difficult courses. After passing a rigorous selection process, candidates are tested in areas like stalking and concealment, observation and intelligence gathering, survival skills and urban operations.

Much observing and waiting are required, and successful candidates must be extremely patient, according to the Defense Department, which says the attrition rate is around 60%.

“The rapid target engagement and intelligence reporting were two of the toughest areas for me,” Hay said in the statement. “I also struggled with the very last test where we had to engage long-distance targets while sitting on our rucksacks. That position threw off my balance.”

Hay credited her instructors for helping her get through it.

“They told me to tighten my tripod’s sling, fitting it closer to my body,” she said. “That made all the difference.”

While Hay is the first woman on active duty to graduate from the grueling course, she follows in the footsteps of an Army National Guard soldier who in November 2021 became the first woman overall to complete the program.

The Army acknowledged the feat at the time but did not release the woman’s name.

Hay’s family attended her graduation ceremony in Georgia last month where she received her Army sniper certification; it was the first time they saw her in uniform.

“Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, they weren’t able to make it to my basic training or advanced individual training a few years ago,” Hay said. “Then, I went straight to Germany to join my unit. So, it was really nice to see them and I’m grateful for their support.”

Hay made it through basic training while qualifying as an expert with the M4 assault rifle and then quickly followed that up by graduating from airborne school.

Hay’s platoon sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class Antwon Jones of the airborne brigade’s 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, encouraged her to pursue sniper school and lauded her achievement.

“It’s great to hear stories about paratroopers doing great things,” Jones said in the statement. “But especially when it’s a female defying the odds, and proving women are just as capable to do anything when they have the motivation and drive to win.”

Hay’s next duty station will be in Anchorage, Alaska, with the 11th Airborne Division’s 40th Cavalry Regiment. She says becoming a jumpmaster is her next goal.