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Two female soldiers made history this week. They were the first to complete the U.S. Army’s Ranger School and will graduate on Friday at a ceremony in Fort Benning, Georgia, the home of Ranger School’s headquarters. . The school’s program is notorious for being extremely difficult. The 60-year-old school is not usually open to females. These women were part of a test group of 19 women who went through a rigorous screening process. The graduation is a big step for integrating women into more positions. “This course has proven that every soldier, regardless of gender, can achieve his or her full potential,” Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh said in a statement.
A Grueling Program
In order to graduate, the students have to train vigorously for two months. They get little food and sleep over the course; plus, they also had to endure difficult physical fitness tests. Some of these tests were: carrying over 100 pounds of gear through rough terrain, doing parachute jumps, taking part air assaults on helicopters, and countless days of mock combat patrols. The training course is considered to be the U.S. Army’s most physically difficult to complete. The current training class started in April with 381 men and 19 women. It is so difficult that after the 62-day course, there were only 94 men and two women.
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There Is Still Work To Be Done
This is a big step for women in the army, but there are still barriers. Even though they graduated from the grueling program, the women are not allowed to try out for the elite 75th Ranger Regiment. “The women who successfully completed and graduated from the Ranger course will receive a certificate of completion and be awarded and authorized to wear the Ranger Tab. They will return to their unit,” Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Jennifer Johnson said. “They will not go on to serve in a Ranger Regiment.”
Showing Female Strength
Despite the saddening news that they are still not allowed to serve in a ranger regiment, their graduation was still exciting. The story went viral online and brought attention to the accomplishments of female soldiers. Many are saying that this proves that women can do anything men can, and should be allowed to serve in the same roles. Last week, retiring Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno said that any soldier who remained in Ranger School, no matter the gender, can meet the standards the service has established for a job and should be able to serve in it. Odierno also said he expects the Army to start another Ranger School course in November, which it will again study to decide if the course will be open to women permanently.
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