Liberia: Tamar J.W. Tarr - the Private Who Wants to Command an Army

What the report says

AllAfrica, republishing a Liberian Investigator profile by Destiny D. Jabula dated July 24, 2026, reported on Pvt. Tamar J.W. Tarr, a 24-year-old Armed Forces of Liberia clerk at headquarters in Monrovia who says she wants eventually to become chief of staff. Tarr, a graduate of African Methodist Episcopal University, described military training as a major personal test, especially running and physical fitness, but said she completed the process and gained discipline from it.

The report places Tarr’s ambition in the context of the AFL’s low female representation. Citing Liberia’s Ministry of National Defense, it said women account for 7.4% of the force, or about 150 women in an army of roughly 2,000. The ministry has begun a nationwide effort to recruit more women, starting in Gbarnga, with plans to reach all 15 counties by 2030 and raise women’s representation to 20% to 25% by then, and 30% later.

According to the Liberian Investigator, Tarr was selected by the AFL last year for a United Nations training program focused on women in peace operations and finished first in her class. The article also noted that no woman has served as the professional head of Liberia’s military, though current Defense Minister Geraldine J. George rose through the restructured AFL to brigadier general and previously served as deputy chief of staff.

The profile underscores both Tarr’s personal goal and a broader institutional question for Liberia’s security sector: whether recruitment and career paths can expand opportunities for women in a historically male-dominated force. Tarr told the outlet that young women considering enlistment should be prepared for demanding training and should join out of commitment to the work.