Congressman Requesting Rangers Proof Of Procedure

The United States Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution, led by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and co-sponsored by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), honoring the first women to complete the elite United States Army Ranger School.

Russell sent a letter to Secretary of the Army John McHugh on September 15, and the Ledger-Enquirer obtained it this week from Russell’s office.

The Republican freshman reignited debate this week over women in combat by requesting performance records to prove the first two women to graduate Ranger School at Georgia’s Fort Benning, First Lt. Shaye Haver and Capt. Kristen Griest, were not given special treatment when receiving tabs in August.

According to an exclusive story in People Magazine, the congressman has given the Pentagon until Friday to hand over the test scores and other documents related to their training.

“By asking for those records, he has questioned the integrity of the Ranger instructors who have been selected and trained on their ability to grade leadership”, Smith said.

“One of the reasons you’re seeing such strong reaction from West Point women”, she said, “is that the arguments being made and the objections being raised are the same stuff that we have heard for decades”.

Fulton told The Hill that the idea for the FOIA request began after the group discussed Russell’s request on an informal Facebook page.

“If Congressman Russell claims that Rangers lie, and can be influenced to ignore standards, perhaps he experienced that when he went through Ranger School”.

In his letter to McHugh, Russell wrote that “the training of our combat warriors is paramount to our national defense”.

“No one wanted to touch this issue”, Russell wrote. He is Ranger qualified.

One of those women is going through the third and final Swamp Phase for the second time.

Critics have for months accused the Army of lowering the standards of Ranger School or giving the female students an unfair advantage by allowing them multiple attempts at the school’s three phases.

She compared what is happening now with the questioning of the women who have attended and completed Ranger School with what she and her West Point classmates endured.