By Keith J. Hamel, WPAOG Staff
In August, seven cadets graduated from the Special Forces Combat Diver Qualification Course (CDQC) at the Special Forces Underwater Operations School in Key West, Florida, completing what is one of the most elite training courses in the military. Notably, two of the seven—Cadet Megan Cooper ’25 and Cadet Clara Sabo ’25—became the first women from West Point to pass the CDQC and earn the Special Operations Diver Badge, or the “Bubble.”
“When the Army began allowing women into combat arms units and schools, I dreamed of the opportunity to attend CDQC and become a combat diver,” says Cooper. Both she and Sabo took advantage of the Maritime Assessment Course, a West Point training program that prepares cadets for the physical and mental challenges of the six-week CDQC. “All the running and lifting prepared me exceptionally well for ‘Pool Week,’” says Cooper.
“The first two weeks of CDQC were the most mentally taxing, with attention to detail a huge aspect of each day,” says Sabo. She adds that the most physically demanding event was morning PT. “There was no shortage of workouts, and all of them included an aspect of teambuilding and winning, adding even more pressure,” she says.
Both Cooper and Sabo were especially impressed with the dive supervisors running the course and hope to incorporate some of the lessons they learned from them into their own roles as leaders in the Corps. “One lesson that I took back with me is that being a good leader can look like many things,” says Sabo.
“Understanding and using your strengths is far more important than trying to fit one mold of what you think leadership is supposed to look like.”
They also learned lessons from their Special Forces and Ranger classmates. “My experience at CDQC reinforced my desire to work with the SOF community,” says Cooper. “These classmates instilled in me a deep sense of respect and pride for our future, demonstrating the importance of teamwork.”
Friends, companymates, and USCC have been incredibly supportive of Cooper and Sabo, and they have reacted with pride upon learning of the two women’s historic achievement. “People I have never met or spoken to have come to me and told me how proud they are and offered their congratulations,” says Sabo.
And how do they themselves feel about being the first women cadets from USMA to graduate from CDQC, two of only three women in the entire U.S. Army to achieve this distinction? “It’s a little unbelievable,” says Sabo. “Each day at dive school, I would remind myself that this was not just morning PT or a skills test—everything that I did, good or bad, would represent West Point and women either for better or worse.”
“Graduating from CDQC is my proudest accomplishment,” says Cooper, “and I am committed to continuing to earn the Bubble every day while representing the dive community.”
Photo: CDT Megan Cooper ’25 (third from left) and CDT Clara Sabo ’25 (third from right) were two of the seven USMA cadets to graduate from the Combat Diver Qualification Course this summer, becoming the first women from West Point to earn the Special Operations Diver Badge.
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