A high-flying office worker has become the first female Army reservist to pass the gruelling entry test for the UK’s Parachute Regiment.
Grace Cussons, 28, was one of 23 soldiers out of 87 to pass the difficult all-arms pre-parachute selection earlier this month, proving she has what it takes to serve in the airborne forces.
Succeeding on her second attempt, Lance Corporal Cussons joined a small group of women who have succeeded at the arduous challenge, including doctor and Captain Rosie Wild, who became the first in 2020, and Private Addy Carter, who accomplished the feat at just 21 in 2022.
She passed on the anniversary of the death of her friend and colleague, Captain Lizzie Godwin, who inspired her to take the test in the first place.
Trailblazer Captain Godwin, who rode in the Queen’s funeral procession in 2022, was killed in a car crash on September 5 last year, aged just 28.
Lance Corporal Cussons told how her friend would have been delighted by her achievement, and is now hoping to inspire other women in the military to put themselves forward for some of the service’s most challenging tests.
The Parachute Regiment’s entry test includes a ten-mile march carrying 16kg in two hours, log and stretcher races and an aerial confidence course.
Designed to test a soldier’s fitness, mental robustness and determination, it has been passed by only a few regular servicewomen.
Grace Cussons, 28, poses alongside a P-Company sign after passing gruelling entry test for the UK’s Parachute Regiment
Lance Corporal Cussons became the first female reservist to pass the course, and juggled it alongside her high-flying corporate job
But unlike those before her, Lance Corporal Cussons had to juggle training for the test alongside her busy role as a senior commercial strategy manager for Procter & Gamble, which could see her work 12-hour days.
And today, she is starting a new job after also applying for roles whilst juggling eight training sessions a week.
Lance Corporal Cussons, who serves in 3 Squadron the Honourable Artillery Company, will now transfer into A Battery, HAC (Tactical Control 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery) after being presented with her coveted maroon beret.
Speaking to Forces News about her motivation to pass the gruelling test, she said: ‘One of my best friends was in the Household Cavalry, Captain Lizzie Godwin, and she sadly passed away this time last year.
‘She was a huge, huge inspiration for me as a woman in the military, and the last conversation that we had before she passed, she said to me: “You need to go and give it a go. What’s the worst that’s going to happen?”
‘And so after she passed, it felt like my duty to try and follow in her footsteps.’
The lance corporal has been a reservist for six years and failed her first attempt earlier in the year after the seventh mile of the ten-mile march.
As well as that march, which must be completed carrying a 16kg rucksack in less than two hours, she had to complete an aerial confidence and obstacle course and a log race, which sees a team carry a heavy log on rough ground for two miles.
The test also includes a steeplechase, stretcher race and a two-mile march carrying the same weight rucksack in under 19 minutes.
The final component is milling – a 60-second boxing match in which soldiers are not allowed to defend themselves or avoid punches.
The final component of the course is milling – a 60-second boxing match in which soldiers are not allowed to defend themselves or avoid punches
Lance Corporal Cussons said she previously didn’t back herself to pass the first attempt, and had not sufficiently trained to a high-enough fitness level.
The second time, she enlisted as much help as possible, including a former Coldstream Guards soldier as a personal trainer.
She described herself as ‘incredibly proud’ of her achievement, and said she hopes to help more women get through the Army’s arduous courses.
She must now complete the basic parachute course, where she will learn parachute proficiency and become an airborne soldier.
And in making history, she is following in the footsteps of her late friend Captain Godwin, who similarly entered the record books when she took part in state ceremonial duties with the Life Guards.
She played a leading role in the state funeral of Her Late Majesty the Queen and the coronation of His Majesty the King.
The groundbreaking Household Cavalry officer also earned the Sword of Honour as the most impressive officer from her intake at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Captain Godwin joined The Life Guards in 2020, winning the Sword of Honour at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as the best of her intake.
At the time of her death, she was serving in the Army Training Regiment in Pirbright.
A statement on the Household Cavalry’s Facebook page at the time of her death described her as ‘an utterly dedicated officer who worked tirelessly and always for the good of her soldiers’.