A Kenyan-born woman has broken the glass ceiling after getting promoted to the position of US Army Lieutenant Colonel. Silvia Jemutai was promoted to this position on November 14, 2025 at Fort Lee, Virginia, United States.
Jemutai hails from Kopsiya in Poror, Eldama Ravine in Baringo County. Following her promotion, she hailed her mother Jacqueline Alice Kirui as her source of inspiration, and honored her as a “trailblazer, a woman of strength, vision, and courage.”
In the US Army, Marine Corps and Air Force, Jemutai’s new rank is a senior officer rank that is just above the rank of Major and below the rank of Colonel. This rank is considered to be equivalent to the Coast Guard rank of Commander and the Naval rank of Commander.
According to the United States Department of War (formerly United States Department of Defense), a Lieutenant Colonel has an officer pay-grade of 0-5.
Ahead of Jemutai’s new position are the positions of Colonel with an officer pay-grade of 0-6, Brigadier General with an officer pay-grade of 0-7, Major General with an officer pay-grade of 0-8.
Lieutenant General with an officer pay-grade of 0-9, General with an officer pay-grade of 0-10, and General of the Army. The position of General of the Army is reserved only for times of war.
These ranks imply that Jemutai is only four ranks below the highest rank of General in the United States Army.
Promotion to a position such as the one that will now be occupied by the Kenyan-born follows the guidelines of the policies in derived from the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA).
These guideline recommend that about 70 percent of all personnel in the rank of Major be promoted to Jemutai’s new position after serving for a period of at least three years from the rank of Major, and after serving in the commissioned service for a total period of 17 years.
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