Grace Cussons, a 28-year-old office worker and Army reservist, has become the first female reservist to pass the demanding all-arms pre-parachute selection test for the UK's Parachute Regiment. She succeeded on her second attempt, passing on the anniversary of the death of her friend Captain Lizzie Godwin, who had encouraged her to attempt the course before dying in a car crash last year. Cussons hopes her achievement will inspire other women in the military to take on the service's toughest challenges.

Cussons was one of 23 soldiers to pass out of 87 candidates, juggling gruelling training with her demanding job as a senior commercial strategy manager at Procter & Gamble. The test includes a ten-mile march carrying 16kg in under two hours, a log race, stretcher race, aerial confidence course, and a 60-second unarmed boxing bout known as milling. Only a handful of regular servicewomen, including Captain Rosie Wild in 2020 and Private Addy Carter in 2022, had previously passed it. Cussons, a reservist for six years, will now transfer to a Parachute Regiment unit and complete basic parachute training.