Triple-tabbed soldier completes Ranger, Sapper and Jungle courses

A Hawaii-based soldier has completed a rare feat: graduating from three demanding courses to earn her Ranger, Sapper and Jungle tabs.

First Lt. Mackenzie Corcoran with the 29th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, is one of a few women to wear some of the most difficult to receive tabs — an arch worn on uniforms signifying a special skill.

“No one realizes how far our bodies and minds can actually go until we push them to the limit,” Corcoran said in an Army release.

Becoming a triple-tabbed female soldier is no common accomplishment.

Earlier this year, Corcoran became the 135th woman to graduate and earn her Ranger tab, making her the eighth woman to be double-tabbed with Ranger and Sapper tabs, the Army said.

Another service member became the first female soldier to complete the Jungle Operations Training Course as an infantryman when she graduated in 2014. The following year, the first women graduated from the grueling Ranger course, earning the coveted tab. And while the Sapper Leader Course had its first female graduate in 1999, it wasn’t until 2018 that the course graduated its first female enlisted soldier.

One week after arriving at her unit in January 2022, the Army said Corcoran got the opportunity to attend the Jungle Operations Training Course, a 12-day course that teaches students how to navigate and operate in wilderness environments.

First tab, completed, but Corcoran was not nearly finished.

From November to December 2022 she attended the Sapper Leader Course, a formidable 28-day course for combat engineers. In one of the more challenging moments she faced on her tab-collection journey, Corcoran described how a traditional hour of personal time was cut down to 20 minutes after running laps in the rain.

“It was miserable, we were all miserable,” she said in the Army release, noting she chose to eat her field rations instead of taking the time to sleep.

Corcoran earned her promotion to first lieutenant in January 2023 and later achieved another milestone by graduating from Ranger School in March this year.

“Ranger was physically easier than Sapper, but with so much time to my thoughts, it made it more mentally challenging,” she said.

Corcoran plans to attend a three-week course that evaluates and selects the best Rangers to be assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment. She also would like to attend Air Assault School and Pathfinder School, the Army release noted, as well as earn her Expert Soldier Badge.

“I want to continue challenging myself by attending as many Army courses as possible,” she explained.