Rebecca S . Halstead Rebecca Stevens " Becky " Halstead ( born 1959 ) is a retired U . S . Army Brigadier General . She was the first female graduate of West Point to become a general officer . Her final assignment was Chief of Ordnance and commander of the U . S . Army Ordnance Center and Schools at Aberdeen Proving Ground , Maryland . Early life . Halstead was born in Willseyville , New York in 1959 , and is a 1977 graduate of Candor , New York ' s Candor High School . She graduated from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1981 and was a member of the second academy class that included women . Early career . When she was assigned to the Ordnance Corps , her early positions included : platoon leader , operations officer and executive officer with the 69th Ordnance Company , 559th Artillery Group in Vicenza , Italy ; commander , Headquarters and Headquarters Company , 80th Ordnance Battalion , Fort Lewis , Washington ; commander , 63rd Ordnance company , 80th Ordnance Battalion , Fort Lewis , Washington ; and Materiel Officer , 80th Ordnance Battalion , Fort Lewis , Washington . Her later assignments included : assignment officer , Ordnance Branch , Total Army Personnel Command , Alexandria , Virginia ; aide - de - camp to the commander , Combined Arms Support Command and Fort Lee , Fort Lee , Virginia ; support operations officer and battalion executive officer , 526th Forward Support Battalion , 101st Airborne Division , Fort Campbell , Kentucky ; logistics staff officer , and assistant executive officer to the U . S . Army ' s Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics ; commander , 325th Forward Support Battalion , 25th Infantry Division , Schofield Barracks , Hawaii ; commander , 10th Mountain Division Support Command ( DISCOM ) , Fort Drum , New York , including duty as logistics staff officer ( C - 4 ) for Coalition Task Force Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom ; and executive officer to the combatant commander , United States Southern Command , Miami , Florida . Later career . In September 2003 Halstead was assigned as Deputy Commander of the 21st Theater Support Command in Germany . In September 2004 she was assigned as commander , 3rd Corps Support Command ( COSCOM ) , including deployment to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom . In January 2005 , she was promoted to Brigadier General , the first female graduate of West Point to attain general officer rank . In 2006 Halstead was assigned as the Army ' s Chief of Ordnance and commander , U . S . Army Ordnance Center and Schools at Aberdeen Proving Ground , Maryland . During her tenure , she took part in the planning for the Army ' s effort to streamline its Ordnance , Transportation and Supply career fields by creating a single Combined Logistics branch . As part of the Base Realignment and Closure ( BRAC ) initiative , this streamlining included the closing of Abderdeen Proving Ground and the relocation of the Ordnance Center to Fort Lee , Virginia . She retired from the military in June 2008 . Education . Halstead is a graduate of the Army ' s Ordnance Officer Basic Course and Ordnance Officer Advanced Course . She obtained a Master of Military Art and Science degree from the U . S . Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , in 1993 , and in 2000 she received a Master of Science degree in national resource strategy from the National War College , Fort McNair , Washington , D . C . Awards and qualification badges . Halstead ' s military decorations include : the Distinguished Service Medal ; the Defense Superior Service Medal ; two awards of the Legion of Merit ; the Bronze Star Medal ; five awards of the Meritorious Service Medal ; two awards of the Army Commendation Medal ; and the Army Achievement Medal . She also earned the Air Assault Badge and the Army Staff Identification Badge . Post - military career . After her retirement Halstead was elected President of the U . S . Army Ordnance Corps Association , and joined the Praevius Group , a Virginia - based consulting firm , as Executive Director for Leader Development . She later founded her own consulting firm , Steadfast Leadership . In addition , she is a spokesperson for the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress . Other honors . In 2007 Halstead received the National Women ’ s History Project award for " Generations of Women Moving History Forward . " In 2011 she became the first woman to have a room named after her at West Point ’ s Thayer Hotel . In 2013 she was inducted into the New Jersey Women ' s Hall of Fame .