Women Complete Elite US Army Combat Training

When their Ranger Tabs are pinned on Friday morning it’ll be a historic marker for the Army, but the service’s first two Ranger-qualified females said ultimately their accomplishment is about bettering themselves for the soldiers they serve next to.

As one of the first to take on the challenging course, Griest said she felt pressure to succeed because she knew how badly she wanted to attend while finishing her degree at West Point.

Though Haver and Griest have completed Ranger school, they are still not eligible to take part in front-line combat.

“It’s just completely awesome”, Haver’s father, Chris Haversaid. “I was thinking really of future generations of women, that I would like them to have that opportunity”. “That solidified it for me”.

Since it was announced that the Army would allow women to participate in the grueling Ranger School course this summer for the first time, critics have blasted the program, alleging instructors must have dropped standards to accommodate the women. Approximately 34 percent of students who enter Ranger School recycle at least one phase of the course, according to the Army. Hathaway blasted critics for doubting the integrity of Ranger School trainers as well as the capabilities of the two women. “We didn’t come here with a chip on our shoulder”. “You have to realize that your mind can take a whole lot more than your body can”, Haver said Thursday. Maj.

Women have been steadily moving into previously all-male jobs across the military, including as members of the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, best known as the helicopter crews that flew Navy SEALs into Osama bin Laden’s compound.

Soldiers who have earned Ranger Tabs, male or female, are not automatically part of the regiment, which has its own requirements and assessment process. She graduated from West Point in 2011. They called for sweeping reviews of the physical requirements for combat jobs and gave the military services until January 2016 to argue if any positions should remain closed to women.

Haver, an Apache attack helicopter pilot, admitted she had thought about quitting, but that the shared experience of the men and women around her kept her going. Swedes say having women in combat roles, particularly those who’ve served in Afghanistan, has been positive for operations. Both were strong students and gifted athletes, like many others who emerge from high schools across the country every year.

Highlights of the 62-day Ranger course included a physical fitness test consisting of 49 push-ups, 59 sit-ups, a five-mile run in 40 minutes, six chin-ups, a swim test, a land navigation test, and a 12-mile foot march in three hours, the Pentagon said.

A female Army Ranger crosses the Yellow River by rope bridge in early August during training at Camp Rudder at Eglin Air Forc…

The Army isn’t confirming yet who the women are but it’s been out there for a few days and no one has countered the media’s assertions. Griest agreed, saying an exception shouldn’t be made for women.

Haver said when she began the training she was skeptical of her ability to pass. She said her confidence grew as the course went along and her proficiency in conducting patrols improved. They do so as a “Day 1 recycle”, an option that is offered on occasion to both men and women who excel in some aspects of Ranger School but fall short in something specific that can be improved.