Heather Erxleben

Who is Heather Erxleben?

Heather Erxleben is a former Canadian Forces soldier who was the first female to graduate from a Regular Force infantry trades training course. She graduated from the PPCLI Battle School in CFB Wainwright, Alberta on January 19, 1989. 21 other women had attempted to pass the 16 month training course, but she was the first to succeed.

Her first assignment after training was to 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, at that time stationed in BC. She was in the military for three years, and left the services after her initial commitment was completed.

Before her time in the Canadian Forces, Erxleben drove a truck for a lumber company. As of 2006, Heather Erxleben is a nurse in British Columbia.

In May 2006, when interviewed by the Toronto Star regarding the death of Captain Nichola Goddard, the first female Canadian soldier killed in combat, Erxleben commented: “It's just throwing the clock back, it's going back in time — not going forward... If it was a man, wouldn't it be just as important?”